"HM Revenue & Customs data today showed that Capital Gains Tax receipts for January 2026 were £16.985 billion compared to £10.033 billion in January 2025. Total CGT receipts in Feb 2025 to Jan 2026 were £20.6 billion, up from £14.3 billion in the previous 12-month period - a rise of 44 per cent. That is a big upswing in the CGT take for January 2026, which at nearly £17 billion is 69 per cent higher than receipts of just over £10 billion in January 2025."
"January's figure includes the payment of self-assessment bills for the 2024/25 tax year, so it could reflect investors, from April 2024, disposing of assets ahead of an expected rise in CGT rates that duly arrived at the October 2024 Budget.[1] Don't forget that many thought CGT rates were going up more than they did, with some Labour MPs arguing for an equalisation with income tax rates, so a summer of '24 firesale of assets could be behind this spike."
"As the annual exemption had been slashed by the previous Government to a meagre £3,000 by April 2024, there was - and remains - little protection against CGT for investors selling assets, which will have turbo-charged the revenues from any pre-Budget disposals. We will only know next year whether this was a one-off boost from pre-October 2024 disposals, or whether investors continued to sell assets at the higher CGT rates that took effect immediately."
Capital Gains Tax receipts rose sharply, with January 2026 receipts at £16.985 billion versus £10.033 billion in January 2025. Total CGT receipts for Feb 2025–Jan 2026 reached £20.6 billion, up from £14.3 billion the prior 12 months, a 44% increase. The January spike may reflect self-assessment payments and investors disposing of assets from April 2024 ahead of anticipated CGT rate increases enacted at the October 2024 Budget. The reduction of the annual exemption to £3,000 reduced protection for sellers and likely amplified pre-Budget disposals. It remains uncertain whether the surge is a one-off or indicates sustained higher receipts.
Read at London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]