Capital Gains Tax on a £5,000 Gain 2026/27
After the £3,000 annual exempt amount, a basic-rate taxpayer (£35,000 other income) owes £360 CGT on a £5,000 gain. A higher-rate taxpayer (£55,000 other income) owes £480.
A £5,000 gain is the sort you get from trimming a fund or selling a small parcel of shares, and here the £3,000 annual exempt amount does most of the work.2 Only £2,000 is taxable: £360 at 18%, or £480 at 24%. The whole difference between a basic-rate and a higher-rate seller is £120, so on a gain this small the useful question is less which rate applies than whether you needed to pay anything at all.
Which rate does a £5,000 gain pay at different incomes?
| Other income | Band left | At 18% | At 24% | CGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £30,270 | £2,000 | £0 | £360 |
| £35,000 | £15,270 | £2,000 | £0 | £360 |
| £45,000 | £5,270 | £2,000 | £0 | £360 |
| £55,000 | £0 | £0 | £2,000 | £480 |
Almost anyone below the higher-rate threshold keeps the whole £2,000 at 18%: it fits in the basic-rate band as long as your income before tax is no more than £48,270. That is why the bill is identical at £20,000, £35,000 and £45,000 of income in the table. Only between £48,270 and £50,270 does part of it spill over, and above £50,270 all of it is at 24%.1 Even then, the most the higher rate costs you is £120.
Can you pay less on a £5,000 gain?
| Option | CGT | Saving |
|---|---|---|
| Sell it all in 2026/27 | £480 | - |
| Half before 6 April 2027, half after | £0 | £480 |
| Half given first to a spouse with no income | £0 | £480 |
| Half given first to a spouse earning £35,000 | £0 | £480 |
| £10,000 gross pension contribution | £360 | £120 |
| £20,000 gross pension contribution | £360 | £120 |
Spreading the sale over two tax years
This is the gain where splitting works completely. Sell half before 6 April 2027 and half after, and each tax year sees a £2,500 gain, below that year's £3,000 allowance, so the tax falls to nil: £360 saved for a basic-rate seller and £480 for a higher-rate one. The allowance is £3,000 again in 2027/28.3 It only works with something you can sell in parts, such as fund units or a holding of shares.
Giving half to a spouse or civil partner
Giving half to a husband, wife or civil partner first has the same effect. Transfers between spouses who live together carry no CGT,4 and each of you then has a £2,500 gain inside your own allowance, which saves £480. Your spouse takes over your original cost, so this moves the gain between you; it does not reset what the shares cost.4
Pensions, ISAs and reliefs
A pension contribution can move this gain from 24% to 18%, but it can never save more than £120, because only £2,000 is taxable.5 The bigger lever is the next gain: investments inside an ISA are free of CGT and you can pay in up to £20,000 a year.93 Selling shares held outside an ISA to buy them back inside one is itself a disposal, so a small gain like this, mostly covered by the allowance, is often the moment people make that move.
Reporting and paying the tax
With £2,000 taxable there is tax to pay, so HMRC needs to hear about it. If you are UK resident and not in Self Assessment, the real-time Capital Gains Tax service takes a 2026/27 gain until 31 December 2027, with payment by 31 January 2028.6 If you file a tax return, the gain goes on the capital gains pages, and if what you sold was worth more than £50,000, HMRC's notes ask for those pages whatever the gain.8 A gain on UK residential property has its own 60-day return instead.7
Your own figures: use the full calculator → for your sale price, costs, losses and income.
CGT on other gain amounts
Frequently asked questions
Is a £5,000 gain tax-free if I have a capital loss?
Losses from the same tax year come off the gain in full first. Losses carried forward from earlier years are only used to bring the gain down to the £3,000 allowance, so on a £5,000 gain you would use £2,000 of an earlier loss and keep the rest for later years.
Would a £5,000 gain push my salary into the higher tax rate?
No. The gain does not change the income tax on your salary. Your income is used to work out how much basic-rate band is left for the gain, and that decides whether the gain is taxed at 18% or 24%.
Should I sell now or wait until after 5 April 2027?
If you can only sell in one go, it makes no difference to the rate: 18%, 24% and the £3,000 allowance are the same in 2027/28. Waiting only helps if you have already used this year's allowance on another gain, because a sale after 5 April 2027 gets a fresh one.
Figures from our calculator engine, 7 November 2026. Guidance only, not advice.
Sources & references
The rates, allowances and rules in this guide are drawn from the official HMRC and GOV.UK sources below, checked for the 2026/27 tax year. Each link opens the relevant government page in a new tab.
- Capital Gains Tax: rates www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax/rates
- Capital Gains Tax: allowances (annual exempt amount) www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax/allowances
- Budget 2026 OOTLAR, Annex A: rates and allowances (2026/27 and 2027/28) www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2026-overview-of-tax-legislation-and-rates-ootlar/annex-a-rates-and-allowances
- Capital Gains Tax: gifts to your spouse or charity www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax/gifts
- Finance Act 2004, section 192: relief at source (basic rate limit increased by the contribution) www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/12/section/192
- Report and pay CGT: if you have other capital gains to report www.gov.uk/report-and-pay-your-capital-gains-tax/if-you-have-other-capital-gains-to-report
- Report and pay CGT: if you sold a UK property on or after 6 April 2020 www.gov.uk/report-and-pay-your-capital-gains-tax/if-you-sold-a-property-in-the-uk-on-or-after-6-april-2020
- Self Assessment: Capital Gains summary (SA108) and notes www.gov.uk/government/publications/self-assessment-capital-gains-summary-sa108
- Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) www.gov.uk/individual-savings-accounts