HMRC HQ
Capital gains tax receipts for January to June 2025 were £11.77bn, a 12.9% drop year-on-year, according to the latest data from HMRC.
During the same period in 2024 HMRC saw CGT receipts of £13.52bn.
The latest drop in CGT takings comes despite the Chancellor increasing the basic rate from 10% to 18%, and the higher rate from 20% to 24%, in the latest Budget.
CGT receipts have been on a declining trend in recent years, from nearly £17bn in the 2022-23 tax year to £14.5bn in 2023-24, and to £13.1bn in 2024-25.
CGT receipts generally correspond to the year after an asset is sold. For most assets people report through a Self-Assessment tax return and pay by 31 January following the end of the tax year in which the asset disposal took place. This is also the reason behind a large spike in CGT receipts every January.
Rob Morgan, chief investment analyst at Charles Stanley, said it is still too soon to say that the Government’s decision to hike CGT rates has backfired.
He said: “It is premature to say that the Chancellor’s decision to hike rates of CGT has ‘backfired’, as in reality the jury is still out. Previous decisions by government to reduce the allowance may have influenced behaviour, but there are various other factors at play too, notably the lean market returns in 2022 where people will have reported and paid tax on by January 2024.”
HMRC released its latest tax receipts data on Tuesday.
The last three months of 2024 saw a temporary spike in CGT receipts as Britons prepared for the rise in CGT rates from April. In the last three months of 2024, Britons paid £808m in CGT, a 60% rise year-on-year.
