The capital gains tax (CGT) annual exempt amount has been reduced from £12,300 for 2022/23 to £6,000 for 2023/24, and to £3,000 for 2024/25. This may mean that more people have disposals to report and tax to pay to HMRC.  

If an individual does not otherwise need to submit a self assessment tax return, they may wish to consider using the real-time CGT service. This would avoid having to submit a self assessment tax return just to report the gain. Someone who is required to file a self assessment tax return can also use the real-time CGT service. However, they will still need to report the gain on their self assessment tax return. Agents cannot use the service to report a gain on behalf of a client. 

The real-time CGT service is only available to UK residents and cannot be used to report gains on UK residential property, foreign tax credit relief for overseas property, or chargeable event gains for life insurance. The service can only be used by the taxpayer. Gains made in 2023/24 and 2024/25 can currently be reported using the service.

The person will need to sign in with their government gateway user ID and password to use the service. They will be asked to provide information about the disposal and to attach their calculations of the gain. Once the gain has been reported, HMRC will send a letter or email containing a payment reference number. The deadlines for reporting the gain and paying the tax are as follows:

• gain made in 2023/24: report by 31 December 2024 and pay the tax by 31 January 2025; and
• gain made in 2024/25: report by 31 December 2025 and pay the tax by 31 January 2026.

The real-time service can be used to report gains on cryptocurrency. ICAEW’s TAXguide 01/24 explains how to calculate a capital gain on cryptocurrency.