UK Capital Gains Tax Rates 2026/27: Property, Shares & Crypto

The rates set by the October 2024 Autumn Budget still apply in 2026/27. On most assets they are:

Rates on shares, funds and crypto

Basic rate taxpayers: 18%
Higher/additional rate taxpayers: 24%

Rates on residential property

Basic rate: 18%
Higher rate: 24%

Note: Before the October 2024 Autumn Budget, property rates were 18%/28%. The 28% higher rate was reduced to 24% from 30 October 2024.

Annual exempt amount

Everyone gets a £3,000 CGT annual allowance for 2026/27. Only gains above this are taxable. This was reduced from £6,000 (2023/24) and £12,300 (2022/23).

Which rate applies to you?

Your CGT rate depends on your total taxable income for the year. If your income plus gains stays within the basic rate band (£12,570–£50,270), you pay 18%. Above that, you pay 24%.

How the two rates split when a gain straddles the band

This is the part most people get wrong. You do not pay a single rate on the whole gain. The taxable gain is stacked on top of your income, and the portion falling below the higher rate threshold is charged at 18% while the portion above it is charged at 24%.

The practical consequence is that someone with a modest salary and a large gain will pay a blended rate somewhere between the two, not a flat 24%. Working out the split means finding how much of the basic rate band remains unused after your income, and applying 18% to that much of the gain.

Worked example: gain straddling the threshold

Income of £40,000 and a gain on shares of £25,000.

Taxable income after the personal allowance: £40,000 − £12,570 = £27,430
Basic rate band runs to £37,700 of taxable income, so £10,270 of it is unused
Deduct the annual exempt amount: £25,000 − £3,000 = £22,000 taxable gain
First £10,270 of the gain at 18% = £1,848.60
Remaining £11,730 at 24% = £2,815.20
Total CGT: £4,663.80, an effective rate of about 21.2% on the taxable gain

Worked example: gain entirely within the basic rate band

Income of £22,000 and a gain of £8,000.

Taxable gain after the exempt amount: £8,000 − £3,000 = £5,000
Unused basic rate band is comfortably larger than £5,000, so the whole gain is charged at 18%
Total CGT: £900

What you can deduct before the rate applies

The rate is only half the calculation. What you apply it to matters just as much, and allowable costs are routinely under-claimed:

Acquisition cost, including stamp duty and purchase fees
Disposal costs such as estate agent fees, solicitor fees and broker commission
Capital improvements to property, meaning work that enhanced the asset rather than merely maintained it. A new extension counts, replacing a broken boiler does not.
Capital losses from other disposals in the same year, which are set against gains before the annual exempt amount is applied

Losses are worth particular attention. Unused losses can be carried forward indefinitely provided they are reported to HMRC within four years of the tax year in which they arose. A loss you never reported is a loss you cannot later use.

Reporting and payment deadlines

The deadlines differ by asset type, and missing the property one is an easy and expensive mistake:

UK residential property: reported and paid within 60 days of completion, using a standalone CGT on UK property account, separately from your tax return.
Shares, funds and crypto: reported through Self Assessment, with payment due by 31 January following the end of the tax year.

The property deadline runs from completion, not from when the money arrives or when you get round to it, and late filing penalties accrue from day 61.

Timing as the largest available lever

Because the annual exempt amount resets each tax year and cannot be carried forward, splitting a large disposal across two tax years gives you two exempt amounts instead of one. For a couple, transferring assets between spouses or civil partners before sale is normally free of CGT and gives access to both partners' exempt amounts and both sets of basic rate band.

Both of these are ordinary planning rather than anything aggressive, but both depend on acting before the disposal rather than after. Once contracts are exchanged the options narrow considerably.

Work out your own figure

Use our CGT calculator to find your exact liability, or the asset-specific tools for shares, property and crypto, each of which applies the matching cost rules.

This is general information, not tax advice. Rates and allowances change, reliefs such as Private Residence Relief and Business Asset Disposal Relief can alter the position substantially, and HMRC guidance is the definitive source. If the amounts are significant, take professional advice.