HMRC have published 'Capital Gains Tax statistics' which show that despite the halving of the annual tax-free allowance from £12,300 to £6,000, the tax take fell by 18% in 2023-24.
The new figures for the 2023-24 tax year saw 378,000 taxpayers face Capital Gains Tax (CGT) liabilities of £12.1 billion, down from £14.6 billion the previous year. This was £65.9 billion of gains, down 19% from 2022-23.
Gains and liabilities have decreased for the second year in a row following record highs in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 tax years.
CGT is levied on the profits made when assets such as shares, property or businesses are sold. There were changes to the CGT rules in Finance Act 2023 that influenced the 2023-24 figures.
From 6 April 2023:
- The CGT Annual Exempt Amount was reduced from £12,300 to £6,000.
- The CGT exemption for trusts reduced to £3,000 from £6,150.
From 6 April 2024:
- There was a further reduction for individuals and personal representatives to £3,000.
- The amount for trusts was permanently reduced to £1,500.
The HMRC statistics show that for the 2023-24 tax year:
- The number of CGT taxpayers increased by 1% to 378,000. This is explained by the reduction of the Annual Exempt Amount (AEA) from 6 April 2023, which brought an additional 87,000 taxpayers into the scope of CGT.
- Most CGT comes from a small number of taxpayers who make the largest gains.
- 40% of CGT came from those who made gains of £5 million or more. This group represents less than 1% of CGT taxpayers each year.
- The amounts of gain and tax reported in all gain bands above £50,000 have decreased for the second year in a row in the 2023-24 tax year.
- The £5 million and above category contributes half of the total decrease in liabilities.
- 48% of gains for CGT-liable individuals came from the 14% of individuals with taxable incomes above £150,000, the additional rate threshold for Income Tax.
- The total number of CGT taxpayers is around 1% of the number of people who pay Income Tax.
- 8% of CGT came from disposals that qualified for Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR).
- BADR was claimed by 39,000 taxpayers on £10.3 billion of gains, resulting in CGT liabilities of £1 billion.
- CGT gains and liabilities on residential property were £10.3 billion in gains with a total CGT liability of £2.2 billion.
- 163,000 taxpayers filed a CGT on UK Property return, reporting 183,000 disposals.
- These are the highest figures since the introduction of the CGT on UK Property service in April 2020.
- In the 2023-24 tax year, 2,770 individuals reported £3.3 billion of carried interest gains, resulting in tax liabilities of £871 million.
- The 55 to 64 age group has consistently had the most CGT taxpayers and, along with the 45 to 54 age group, has the most gains and liabilities.
- These two age groups represented 45% of the CGT-liable population and contributed around 60% of the gains and tax in the 2023-24 tax year.
- The oldest and youngest age categories have the least amount of gains and taxes in this year.
This publication is the annual update of the ‘Capital Gains Tax statistics’. The statistics include information about regional gains and liabilities.
Useful guides on this topic
Capital taxes round-up: 2025-26
A round-up of developments in capital taxes for individuals for 2025-26, including the new rates for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) announced in the Autumn Budget, as well as some topical CGT and Inheritance Tax (IHT) cases.
Capital taxes round-up: 2024-25
A round-up of developments in capital taxes for individuals for 2024-25, including some topical Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and Inheritance Tax (IHT) cases.
Capital taxes round-up: 2023
A round-up of developments in capital taxes for 2023, including some topical Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and Inheritance Tax (IHT) cases.
External links
Capital Gains Tax statistics: This gives links to all the spreadsheet data.
Accredited official statistics: Capital Gains Tax commentary