TaxIncome Tax NI Pension Student Loan VAT CGT

Tax year 2026/27 · Rest of UK · annual

Capital Gains Tax Calculator

CGT on shares, investments and property for 2026/27.

Tax year

Region

Schedule

Your details

Total capital gain

Asset type

Capital gains tax owed

£2,200

Rate: 10% on £22,000 taxable gain

Breakdown

Total gain	£25,000
Less annual exempt amount	− £3,000
Taxable gain	£22,000
CGT at 10%	£2,200
You keep	£22,800

Interactive scenarios

Tax and deductions, your way

Tax year

Region

Pay schedule

Salary £45,000

Net (monthly)

£2,806

Income tax (monthly)

£541

NI (monthly)

£216

Effective rate

20.2%

Modelled on a 5% pension. Showing monthly figures, rest of UK, tax year 2026/27.

The full guide

Everything worth knowing about CGT

Worked examples with real figures, the rules underneath the number, and the traps that catch people out.

Capital Gains Tax Calculator: £3,000 a year free, then 10%, 20% or 24%

Capital gains tax falls on the profit when you sell an asset for more than you paid for it, and the first £3,000 of gain in each tax year is covered by the annual exempt amount. Above that figure this calculator charges 10% or 20% on shares and other assets depending on your tax band, and a flat 24% on residential property.

On the starting figures, a £25,000 gain on shares costs a basic rate taxpayer £2,200 and a higher rate taxpayer £4,400, while the same size gain on a rental property costs £5,280. The sections below take the exempt amount, the rates and the order of the calculation in turn, so the number the calculator gives you is one you can rebuild by hand.

One rate for the whole gain

This calculator applies the single rate you select to the whole taxable gain. A real gain that straddles the basic rate limit is split between the two rates, so run the calculator both ways and the true bill sits between the two answers.

The annual exempt amount: the first £3,000 of gain is free

Every individual gets an annual exempt amount of £3,000, and it comes off your total gains for the tax year before any rate is applied. It is a deduction from the gain, not a band within it, so a £25,000 gain is taxed on £22,000 and never on the whole amount.

Small gains can fall entirely inside it. Sell assets at a £2,800 profit across a whole tax year and the taxable gain is zero and the tax is zero. The allowance also explains why the same sale split across two tax years can cost less than one sale in a single year: each year brings a fresh £3,000 that cannot be carried forward if it goes unused.

The amount is per person, not per household and not per asset. Each spouse or civil partner holds their own £3,000, so a couple selling jointly owned assets can shelter £6,000 of gain between them in a year. The calculator applies one person's allowance to the gain you enter, so a couple working out a joint sale should run their shares separately.

Order matters inside the calculation. The exempt amount comes off first, the rate applies to what remains, and the tax is then taken from the original gain to show what you keep. Every worked figure on this page follows that same sequence, because it is the sequence the calculator itself uses.

Timing a sale across the tax year boundary puts two allowances to work. A £50,000 share gain sold inside one year by a higher rate taxpayer is taxed on £47,000 and costs £9,400. Sold as two £25,000 gains either side of 5 April, it uses two exempt amounts, is taxed on £22,000 twice and costs £8,800 in total. The second allowance is worth £600 on those figures, bought with nothing but patience.

The rates: 24% on property, 10% or 20% on everything else

Residential property pays 24% on its taxable gain, and in this calculator that rate applies to everyone. Basic rate and higher rate taxpayers face the same 24% on a rental property or a second home, which is why the calculator shows no band toggle when you select property: the rate never changes, so there is nothing to switch.

Shares, investments and other assets use the two income tax linked rates instead. A basic rate taxpayer pays 10% on the taxable gain, and a higher or additional rate taxpayer pays 20%, chosen with the toggle beside the gain box.

Set the three rates against the same taxable gain and the spread is wide. A taxable gain of £22,000 costs £2,200 at the basic rate on shares, £4,400 at the higher rate on shares, and £5,280 at the property rate. The type of asset you sold moves the bill more than the band you sit in, which is why the calculator asks about the asset before it asks about your rate.

Scale the comparison up and the property premium grows with it. On a £50,000 gain the taxable slice is £47,000 in every column: £4,700 at the basic share rate, £9,400 at the higher share rate and £11,280 at the property rate. A landlord selling at that level pays more than double the tax of a basic rate investor selling shares of exactly the same value.

Basic or higher: where your gain sits decides the rate

In the full rules a capital gain stacks on top of your income for the year. The slice of the gain that fits inside whatever remains of your basic rate band is charged at the lower rate, and the slice above it is charged at the higher rate. A salary that already fills the basic band pushes the whole gain to the higher rate, while a low income year can pull part of a large gain down into the lower one.

This calculator simplifies that stack into a single choice. The toggle declares which band your gain mainly falls into, and the chosen rate is applied to the whole taxable gain. Where your gain genuinely straddles the boundary, the true bill lands between the two figures the calculator produces, so run it with the toggle off and then on and you hold both ends of the range.

Take the £25,000 share gain from the worked example below. Charged wholly at the basic rate it costs £2,200, and charged wholly at the higher rate it costs £4,400. A earner whose income leaves half the basic band free would pay something between those figures in a real return, closer to whichever side holds more of the gain.

Property stands outside this question inside the calculator. Because the 24% property rate applies at either toggle setting, the band discussion changes nothing for a rental property sale here: the asset type alone fixes the rate.

Worked example: £25,000 of shares, then a £40,000 property gain

The calculator always runs the same three steps: take the exempt amount off the gain, charge the rate on what remains, and subtract the tax from the gain to show what you keep. Start with £25,000 of shares for a basic rate taxpayer. The taxable gain is £25,000 minus £3,000, which is £22,000, and 10% of that is £2,200 of tax. You keep £22,800.

Flip the toggle to the higher rate and the same sale costs £4,400, because 20% of £22,000 replaces 10% of it. You keep £20,600. The gain did not move and the exempt amount did not move; only the band the gain was charged at changed, and it doubled the bill.

Now sell a rental property with a £40,000 gain instead. The taxable gain is £37,000 after the exempt amount, and the property rate of 24% produces £8,880 of tax, leaving £31,120. Property pays the highest rate in the table on every pound of taxable gain, which is why the asset question comes before the band question in the calculator.

What this calculator leaves out

Start with the right gain. The figure the calculator asks for is the profit on the sale: what you received, minus what the asset originally cost you, before the adjustments below. Starting from the full sale price instead would tax money that was never profit and overstate the bill several times over on most sales.

Losses come first in a real return. A loss realised in the same tax year is set against your gains before the exempt amount is applied, and unused losses can be carried forward to later years once they are reported. The calculator takes the gain you enter as the final figure, so enter it net of any losses you are claiming if you want the estimate to match a return.

The gain itself needs building before it reaches this page. Allowable costs come off the profit in a real calculation, including what you paid to buy and sell the asset and the cost of improvements that still add value at the sale. Enter the gain after those costs, or the estimate taxes money that was never profit.

Your main home stands outside the charge in most cases. Private residence relief generally exempts the home you live in, which is why the calculator's property option is labelled residential property other than your main home. Rental property, second homes and inherited property you never lived in are the sales this page is built for.

Part sales follow the same shape as whole ones. Sell half of a shareholding and the gain is the profit on that half, worked out from the cost of the shares you hold, and the exempt amount still comes off the year's total just once. The calculator does not care how many sales built the figure you enter; it charges the year's total gain as a single number.

Filing sits outside the estimate too. Residential property sales carry their own reporting route with a 60 day deadline after completion, while other gains are normally reported through a Self Assessment tax return by the following 31 January. The calculator gives you the size of the bill; the route and the deadline depend on what you sold.

Where the Capital Gains Tax Calculator gets its figures

Rates, bands and thresholds follow published HMRC and gov.uk figures for the 2026/27 tax year, held in one table that every tool reads. April arrives, the table changes, and the results move together.

Earlier years stay available through the year selector, so a late self assessment runs on the numbers that applied at the time rather than today's.

Some cases still need an accountant. K codes carrying negative allowances, bespoke sacrifice arrangements, the annual allowance taper for very high earners, and anything involving two employments at once.

About this calculator

The UK Capital Gains Tax Calculator works out the tax you owe when you sell an asset for more than you paid, using 2026/27 rates and the £3,000 annual exempt amount. It covers shares, investments and residential property.

Frequently asked questions

What is the capital gains tax allowance for 2026/27?+

The annual exempt amount is £3,000 per person for 2026/27. You only pay CGT on gains above this threshold in a tax year, so a £25,000 gain leaves £22,000 taxable.

What are the CGT rates in the UK?+

Basic-rate taxpayers pay 10% on gains from shares and investments, while higher and additional-rate taxpayers pay 20%. Residential property (excluding your main home) is taxed at 24% for everyone.

Do I pay capital gains tax on my main home?+

No. Your main residence is covered by Private Residence Relief, so selling the home you live in is CGT-free. The 24% property rate applies to second homes, buy-to-lets and investment properties.

How is the gain itself calculated?+

Subtract what you paid (plus allowable costs like stamp duty, legal fees and improvement works) from the sale price. Allowable costs reduce your gain, so keep every receipt — they directly cut your tax bill.

Can I reduce my capital gains tax bill?+

Yes. Use your £3,000 annual allowance each year, transfer assets to a spouse to use their allowance, harvest losses to offset gains, and hold investments inside an ISA where gains are completely tax-free.

When do I have to report and pay CGT?+

For UK residential property you must report and pay within 60 days of completion using a UK property CGT return. Other gains are reported through self assessment, with payment due by 31 January after the tax year.

Do shares in an ISA or pension count for CGT?+

No. Gains inside an ISA or a pension are entirely free of capital gains tax, which is why using your £20,000 annual ISA allowance is one of the simplest ways to shelter investment growth.