Capital gains tax rates on assets increased

Capital gains tax (CGT) rates on assets increased from 10% to 18% for basic-rate taxpayers and from 20% to 24% for higher-rate taxpayers, the Chancellor announced at the Autumn Budget. The change took effect immediately¹.

CGT is charged on the profit made from selling assets such as investments or valuable possessions, rather than on the sale price. Gains can be offset against losses made when selling other assets¹. The new rates bring CGT on assets into line with the rates already charged on selling a second property¹.

The Association of Taxation Technicians lists "Capital Gains Tax rate changes from October 2024 onwards" among recent and upcoming headline tax changes, describing the measure as increasing "the main rates of Capital Gains Tax on a range of assets, persons and reliefs"². Saga, in a Talk Money Week release, said that following the Budget "Capital Gains Tax is to rise to 18% for the basic rate and 24% for those paying the higher rate of tax"³.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, in modelling published on 22 March 2025, said it had subtracted £2.5 billion from its figures "due to the changes made to capital gains tax at the Autumn Budget 2024"⁴. MoneyWeek, writing in September 2026, said the rates "rose from 20% to 24% for higher-rate taxpayers, and they rose on Budget day itself", and that official forecasters later confirmed enough people brought sales forward for it to show in the tax figures⁵.

Why it matters for households

Anyone who sells an asset that has risen in value and makes a gain above the annual exempt amount owes CGT at the new rates, for disposals from the date of the Budget onwards¹. Because the rates rose with immediate effect, a sale completed after the announcement attracted the higher rate, while one completed before it did not¹.

The rate a person pays depends on their income tax band: basic-rate taxpayers pay 18% and higher-rate taxpayers 24% on gains from assets, the same rates that apply to second properties¹. Only the gain is taxed, not the sale price, and losses on other assets can be set against gains¹.

The change also affects the arithmetic of tax-sheltered accounts. Growth inside an ISA is tax free, and Saga noted that its research found almost two-thirds of its survey panel had not maximised their annual ISA allowance, with 30% having used none of it³. That research covered a survey panel and is not a measure of the whole population.

What happens next

No further CGT rate changes have been announced. MoneyWeek reported that the cash ISA allowance falls to £12,000 for savers under 65 from April 2027, and that the pension inheritance tax change also arrives in April 2027⁵. It also reported that speculation about salary sacrifice preceded a change that does not take effect until 2029⁵.

For how gains are calculated and reported, see Capital Gains Tax: what is taxed, allowances and rates and How to report and pay Capital Gains Tax. Losses are covered in Using capital losses to cut Capital Gains Tax and the claim deadline, and disposals of property in Capital Gains Tax when selling a home that was not your main residence and Private Residence Relief: selling your home without Capital Gains Tax. Gifts are covered in Capital Gains Tax when you give away an asset.