UK capital gains tax receipts surge after HMRC records historic haul

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UK capital gains tax surge

Highlights

UK capital gains tax receipts hit a record £24.2 billion in 2024/25, up 89% year-on-year, with 584,000 paying CGT, a 45% increase.
Rachel Reeves raises CGT rates to 18-32% in the 2024 Budget, following sharp cuts to the annual tax-free allowance, driving £127 billion in reported gains—an 82% annual increase.
HMRC attributes £1.38 billion of CGT to 17,600 crypto investors, while 45% of overall CGT receipts stem from individuals with gains of £5 million or more.

Tax changes drive receipts higher

As reported by Financial Times, citing HM Revenue & Customs, capital gains tax receipts total £24.2 billion in 2024/25, up 89% from the previous year and the highest annual total since 1987. HMRC says 584,000 people pay CGT, a 45% increase on the year before, as the Labour government seeks to strengthen the public finances through higher tax rates.

Rachel Reeves raises CGT rates in her 2024 Budget to between 18% and 32%, from the previous 10% to 28%. The previous Conservative government had already reduced the tax-free allowance in 2023/24 before halving it again to £3,000 a year for 2024/25.

HMRC says the rate increase, back-to-back annual cuts to the tax-free allowance and a rise in business asset disposal rates from April 2025 all contribute to the record receipts. Total reported gains reach £127 billion, an 82% increase from the previous year.

Crypto disclosures and revenue risks

For the first time, HMRC reports CGT receipts from crypto investors, showing £1.38 billion paid by 17,600 holders, most of them aged between 35 and 44. It also says 240 people report crypto gains of at least £1 million each.

HMRC has been intensifying action against crypto tax evasion and recovers more than £8 million through settlements with digital asset tax evaders, the Financial Times reports. The data also underscores how concentrated CGT liabilities remain, with 45% of receipts coming from people making gains of £5 million or more, even though that group represents less than 1% of all CGT taxpayers.

Questions remain over whether further rate rises would keep boosting revenue. Andy Burnham’s government is weighing possible tax increases in its first Budget in October, but some officials believe additional CGT rises could reduce receipts if taxpayers move to shield assets from tax, while Burnham says this week that he would “definitely not” tax the wealthy out of the UK and wants entrepreneurs to build wealth and stay in the country.

Our earlier article on Andy Burnham’s pro-growth pitch to corporate Britain explained how business leaders were holding back major decisions while they waited for the October 28 Budget. We noted that firms were weighing the risk of higher taxes and operating costs against Burnham’s promises to support investment, and that the government’s wider economic agenda also includes efforts to reset aspects of the UK-EU relationship.

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