Total Capital Gains Tax (CGT) receipts collected by the government jumped 89% to £24.2bn in the 2024/25 tax year, mainly due to a rise in the main rates for the tax during the year.
The number of CGT taxpayers in the year increased 45% year on year to an all-time high of 584,000, according to annual updated data released today (27 August) by HMRC.
The total amount of gains reported was £127bn, an 82% increase from the previous year.
London and the South East of England accounted for half of the total gains reported (49%) for the year.
In its report, the taxman said that the increases were mainly down to the rise in the main rates of CGT midway through the 2024/25 tax year; consecutive reductions in the tax-free allowance for capital gains; the announcement that the Business Asset Disposal Relief would increase from April 2025 and speculation around increases in CGT rates before the 2024 Autumn Budget.
The current capital gains tax are 18% for basic rate taxpayers and 24% for higher and additional rate taxpayers. The annual exempt amount is £3,000 per individual.
In the 2024/25 tax year, general capital gains rates were 10% for basic rate taxpayers, and 20% for higher rate taxpayers. The rates rose to their current figures from 1 November 2024.
Mark Jephcott, senior relationship manager at insurance-based wealth manager Utmost, said the rises seem unlikely to be sustained.
He said: “These record capital gains reflect how strongly tax policy can influence the timing of asset sales. Speculation about higher CGT rates ahead of the Autumn 2024 Budget appears to have encouraged many investors to bring forward disposals to secure the existing rates, concentrating activity within the tax year.
“The subsequent announcement that Business Asset Disposal Relief rates would rise from April 2025 created another incentive for business owners to complete sales before the changes took effect. Together, these pressures helped accelerate transactions that might otherwise have taken place in later years.
“Successive reductions in the annual tax-free allowance also brought more gains into the tax net, while the increase in the main CGT rates at the Autumn 2024 Budget added to the resulting tax liabilities. The figures therefore reflect more than growth in asset values: they show investors responding to both anticipated and confirmed policy changes.
“The question for the Treasury is how much activity was brought forward and whether that leaves a quieter period for disposals in the years ahead.”
The latest Office for Budget Responsibility forecast expects CGT receipts to rise to £34.9bn by 2030/31, up from £29.8bn in its November 2025 forecast, largely driven by rising forecast equity prices.
HMRC’s latest monthly CGT data shows receipts of £194m for July 2026, compared to the £165m recorded in July 2025.