Have I dug myself a »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës ÀǶâ 櫡ʤˤ«¤±¤ë¡Ë with my ¡ò46,100 Åê»ñ ¥Þ¥ê¥Õ¥¡¥Ê?

I've been making Àµµ¬¤Î¡¿ÀµÁª¼ê ·îËè¤Î Åê»ñ ½Ð»ñ¡¿¹×¸¥s and reinvesting the ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅö.

I have paid ¡ò300 in each month for the past 97 months, and in doing so have ÃßÀѤ¹¤ëd ¡ò46,100 from a total Åê»ñ of ¡ò29,100 ²Ã¤¨¤ë the ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅös that I have reinvested.

How can I calculate »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës ÀǶâ on this Åê»ñ, and have I dug myself into a ÀǶâ 櫡ʤˤ«¤±¤ë¡Ë?

What ÁªÂòs are open to me to ¸º¤º¤ë my ̤Íè »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës ÀǶâ Ë¡°Æ? R.B ·Ðͳ¤Ç email

Tax trap: Monthly investing pays off - but has our reader entered a CGT trap?

ÀǶâ 櫡ʤˤ«¤±¤ë¡Ë: ·îËè¤Î Åê»ñ¤¹¤ëing »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶âs off - but has our reader entered a CGT 櫡ʤˤ«¤±¤ë¡Ë?

Harvey Dorset, of This is Money, replies: Committing to a long-¾Î¤¹¤ë¡¤¸Æ¤Ö¡¿´ü´Ö¡¿ÍѸì Åê»ñ, and sticking to those ·îËè¤Î ½Ð»ñ¡¿¹×¸¥s, is no mean feat.

In your »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ô, the »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â-off has been that your Åê»ñ has ¹ï¡¹¤È grown ¤«¤Ê¤ê beyond what you have inve sted yourself.

What this means, however, is that you may ľÌ̤¹¤ë a hefty »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës ÀǶâ Ë¡°Æ when you come to selling these Åê»ñs.

Even so, there are ways in which you can ºï¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë your ·ë¶É¤Î ÀǶâ Ë¡°Æ when you look to ÇÛÃÖ¤¹¤ë¡¿½èʬ¤¹¤ë¡¿¤·¤¿¤¤µ¤»ý¤Á¤Ë¤µ¤»¤ë of your Åê»ñs in the ̤Íè.

Up to a ³Î¤«¤Ê level, you can »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â no ÀǶâ on Íø±×¡Ê¤ò¤¢¤²¤ë¡Ës you have made. This comes in the form of the ǯ¼¡¤Î »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës ÀǶâ allowance, which, on 6 April 2024 was ¸º¤º¤ëd to ¡ò3,000 from ¡ò6,000 for the new ÀǶâ year.

Åê»ñ²Ès are also ¤¹¤ë¸¢Íø¤òÍ¿¤¨¤ëd to a ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅö ÀǶâ allowance of ¡ò500 for the new ÀǶâ year from April - again this has been ºï¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë from ¡ò1,000 the previous year.

In ̤Íè, there are a variety of ways in which you can lower your »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës or ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅö ÀǶ⠹ðȯ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¤¹ðÁʡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÎÁ¶â. This means you can make the most ¸ú²ÌŪ¤Ê use of your ·îËè¤Î Åê»ñ ½Ð»ñ¡¿¹×¸¥s and any Íø±×¡Ê¤ò¤¢¤²¤ë¡Ës or income.

ÁªÂòs ´Þ¤à making a gift to your spouse to use their allowances too, capitalising on the Íø±×s of Isas and ½ù¡¹¤Ë ÇÛÃÖ¤¹¤ë¡¿½èʬ¤¹¤ë¡¿¤·¤¿¤¤µ¤»ý¤Á¤Ë¤µ¤»¤ëing of your Åê»ñs using your ǯ¼¡¤Î »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës ÀǶâ allowance.

I asked two ÀìÌç²Ès for their advice on what you can do ¸º¤º¤ë your »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës Ë¡°Æ, and make the most out of your Åê»ñs in the ̤Íè.

Reducing the damage: Toby Tallon suggests making a?'nil gain nil loss' gift to your spouse

¸º¤º¤ëing the »¼º: Toby Tallon ¼¨º¶¤¹¤ës making a?'nil ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ë nil loss' gift to your spouse

Toby Tallon, ÀǶâ partner at Evelyn Partners, replies: Congratulations on setting aside a Àµµ¬¤Î¡¿ÀµÁª¼ê sum for so long.?

I can empathise with the ÀǶâ ƬÄË, having been in a (much more modest) position when cashing in 10+ years' ²ÁÃ͡ʤ¬¤¢¤ë¡Ë of accumulation ´ð¶â ÉôÂâs.?

Happily, you have many Æ»¶ñs to spring the ÀǶâ 櫡ʤˤ«¤±¤ë¡Ë.?

I will ½Ï»ë¤¹¤ë¡¿½Ï¹Í¤¹¤ë your ÀǶâ position in my ÊÖÅú but not any Åê»ñ considerations.

Calculating the ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ë

The base cost of your Åê»ñ is the total of:

? ·îËè¤Î ½Ð»ñ¡¿¹×¸¥s. You already calculated these as ¡ò29,100 (¡ò300 for 97 months); and

? Reinvested ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅös. Either check through eight years' ²ÁÃ͡ʤ¬¤¢¤ë¡Ë of À¼ÌÀs (an easier approach if you have Àܶá to them) or use a spreadsheet to Äɲ乤ë in the appropriate ÃßÀѤ¹¤ëd ³ô from each ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅö (more time-¾ÃÈñ¤¹¤ëing).

All ³ô in the same »ñ»º are pooled together for base cost ÌÜŪs, assuming no ³ô in the same »ñ»º are repurchased within 30 days of a sale.

The proceeds on a sale are matched to the total base cost in ³ä¹ç to the number of ³ô sold. For example, if you owned 500 ³ô and sold 100, the base cost for these 100 ³ô would be 100/500 of the total base cost.

¸º¤º¤ëing the ¶ìÄË

1) ǯ¼¡¤Î ¹µ½ü

? The »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës ÀǶâ ǯ¼¡¤Î ¹µ½ü was ¡ò6,000 for 2023/24, ¸º¤º¤ëing to ¡ò3,000 for 2024/25.

? This is a 'lose or use it' ¹µ½ü that could be used over ¿½Å¤Î ÀǶâ years.

2) »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ losses

? Any »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ losses realised on other »ñ»ºs can be »Ï¤á¤ë¡¤·è¤á¤ë against »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës realised in the same ÀǶâ year or rolled º£¸å to ̤Íè ÀǶâ years.

? Any other Åê»ñs sitting at a loss could be realised to be Á껦¤¹¤ë against the ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ë.

3) Gift to spouse

? If you are married / in a civil ¶¦Æ±, consider gifting ³ô to your spouse for them to make use of their ǯ¼¡¤Î exempti on or »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ losses.

? ³ô gifted to a spouse / civil partner take place at 'nil ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ë nil loss', meaning no »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ë for the transferor and the transferee spouse takes on the base cost.

4) CGT Ψ

? CGT is 10 per cent on any ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës that fit within your remaining ½êÆÀÀÇ basic Ψ threshold.

? CGT Áý²Ã¤¹¤ës to 20 per cent once you are a higher Ψ ÀǶâ payer.

5) EIS / SEIS Åê»ñs

? Åê»ñs in ³Î¤«¤Ê EIS / SEIS qualifying companies carry ²ÄǽÀ­¤Î¤¢¤ë »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës ÀǶâ deferrals / ¹µ½üs (amongst other ÀǶâ Íø±×s).

? Such Åê»ñs carry a ½ÅÍ×¤Ê Åê»ñ ´í¸±, and specialist advice is recommended.

Will you ľÌ̤¹¤ë ¤½¤Î¾å¤Î ÀǶ⠶ìÄË?

There may be a ¤½¤Î¾å¤Î ÀǶâ ÌäÂ꡿ȯ¹Ô¤¹¤ë to consider. Although the ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅös were automatically reinvested, they are still considered income.

However, hopefully the ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅös were covered by your ǯ¼¡¤Î allowances:

? Personal allowance. Á껦¤¹¤ë first against ¼ýÆþs and other Ãù¶â income, anything left could be »Ï¤á¤ë¡¤·è¤á¤ë off against ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅö income. ²ÁÃ͡ʤ¬¤¢¤ë¡Ë ¡ò11,000 in 2016/17, rising to ¡ò12,570 by 2021/22.

? ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅö allowance. ÌÀ³Î¤Ê¡¿ºÙÉô ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅös allowance ²ÁÃ͡ʤ¬¤¢¤ë¡Ë ¡ò5,000 in 2016/17 and 2017/18, ¡ò2,000 from 2018/19 to 2022/23, ¡ò1,000 in 2023/24 and ¡ò500 in 2024/25.

Any ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅös in Ķ²á of the above allowances should have been ÀǶâd at Ψs of up to 39.35 per cent, depending on your Á´ÂΤˤ錄¤ë income and the ÀǶâ year.

Èò¤±¤ë the Åê»ñ¤¹¤ëing ÀǶâ 櫡ʤˤ«¤±¤ë¡Ë

There are some points that you may wish to consider next time °ìÏ¢¤Î²ñµÄ¡¢¸ò¾Ä¡¿´°À®¤¹¤ë.

Isas

? Åê»ñ¤¹¤ëing ·Ðͳ¤Ç Isas Èò¤±¤ës Ê£»¨¤µ and ÀǶâ costs. I assume these ³ô are not in an Isa.

? All Íø±×¡¿¶½Ì£, ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅös, and »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës arising within an Isa are ÀǶâ-²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê.

ǯ¶â

? Í¿¤¨¤ë¡¿Êû¤²¤ëing to a ǯ¶â would enable all income and »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës to roll up ÀǶ⠲òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê within the ǯ¶â wrapper.

? ÀǶâ can ŬÍѤ¹¤ë on űÂàs after an individual is at a pensionable age (¸½ºß¡¿°ìÈÌ¤Ë 55, rising to 57 from 2028).

? ǯ¶âs »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ës are ¥³¥ó¥Ó¥Ê¡¼¥È¡¿Ê£¹çÂÎ and specialist advice is recommended.

The reinvested ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅös can ºï¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë your CGT Ë¡°Æ?

Liviu Ratoi, ÆÈΩ¤·¤¿¡¦Ìµ½ê° ºâÀ¯¾å¤Î ½õ¸À¼Ô at Èô¹Ôµ¡¤Ç¹Ô¤¯ing Colours, replies:?To calculate your »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës ÀǶâ, you'll first need to ·èÄꤹ¤ë the total ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ë made by taking the ¸½ºß¤Î value and subtracting the ½é¤á¤Î Åê»ñ.?

Liviu Ratoi, of Flying Colours, says reinvested dividends increase the book costs and limited taxed gains

Liviu Ratoi, of Èô¹Ôµ¡¤Ç¹Ô¤¯ing Colours, says reinvested ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅös Áý²Ã¤¹¤ë the Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë costs and ¸Â¤é¤ì¤¿¡¿Î©·ûŪ¤Ê ÀǶâd ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës

In this instance, the ·×»»¡¿¸«ÀѤê is: ¡ò46,100 (¸½ºß¤Î value) minus ¡ò29,100 (the 'Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë' cost of ¡ò300 per month for 97 months), which equals ¡ò17,000.

Since you've reinvested the ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅös received over the period, you'll need to account for these in your Á´ÂΤˤ錄¤ë ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ë.?

When ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅös are reinvested, they Áý²Ã¤¹¤ë the ½é¤á¤Î Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë cost, which therefore ¸º¤º¤ës your ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ë when you ·ë¶É sell the Åê»ñ.

To ·èÄꤹ¤ë your ²þÄû¤¹¤ëd Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë cost after reinvesting the ¡Ê³ô¼ç¤Ø¤Î¡ËÇÛÅös, you would need to Àפò¤Ä¤±¤ë each reinvestment and Äɲ乤ë it to your ½é¤á¤Î Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë cost of ¡ò29,100.

Once you've calculated the total ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ë, you can work out the CGT.?

¸½ºß¡¿°ìÈ̤Ë, CGT is ŬÍѤ¹¤ëd at different Ψs depending on your total income and ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës across the ÀǶâ year. For the 2023/2024 ÀǶâ year, the Ψs are as follows:

? Basic Ψ taxpayers: 10 per cent on ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës over the ÀǶâ-²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê allowance up to the basic Ψ ½êÆÀÀÇ ¶Ø»ß¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ëd (¡ò50,270 for the ÀǶâ year 2023/2024).

? Higher Ψ and Éղà Ψ taxpayers: 20 per cent on ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës over the ÀǶâ-²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê allowance.

As a UK µï½»¡Ê¼Ô¡Ë, you will also have an ǯ¼¡¤Î ÀǶâ-²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê allowance, known as the 'ǯ¼¡¤Î ÌȽü¤µ¤ì¤¿ ÎÌ' for »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës.?

For the 2023/24 ºâÀ¯¾å¤Î year, this is ¡ ò6,000 or ¡ò12,000 for Åê»ñs held ¶¦Æ±¤Ç, ¸º¤º¤ëing to ¡ò3,000 and ¡ò6,000 ¤½¤ì¤¾¤ì for the 2024/25 ºâÀ¯¾å¤Î year.

Whether you've dug yourself into a ÀǶâ 櫡ʤˤ«¤±¤ë¡Ë depends on your individual circumstances.?

If the total ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ë doesn't ±Û¤¨¤ë your ǯ¼¡¤Î ÀǶâ-²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê allowance, then you have nothing to worry about.

However, if your total ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ë ±Û¤¨¤ës your ǯ¼¡¤Î allowance then you'll need to »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â ÀǶâ on the Éôʬ above the allowance at your ¤´¤¯¤ï¤º¤«¤Î Ψ of ÀǶâ.?

If your ǯ¼¡¤Î income is ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ë to ¡ò50,270 and the ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ë ±Û¤¨¤ës your ǯ¼¡¤Î allowance, then it's likely part of the ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ë will ·ë¶ÉºÇ¸å¤Ë¤Ï¡¼¤Ê¤ë ¸ºß ÀǶâd at 10 per cent (basic Ψ) and part at 20 per cent (higher Ψ).

This is because »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës is Äɲ乤ëd on ºÇ¹â¤Î¡¤¤ò±Û¤¹ of your income for the ÀǶâ year to ·èÄꤹ¤ë your Á´ÂΤˤ錄¤ë position and therefore which Ψ of ÀǶâ ŬÍѤ¹¤ës.

¡¼¤Ë´Ø¤·¤Æ¡¿¡¼¤ÎÅÀ¤Ç of ¸º¤º¤ëing your ̤Íè »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës ÀǶâ Ë¡°Æ, you may want to consider some of the ¤Ë°ú¤­Â³¤¤¤Æ ÁªÂòs:

1. Utilise ÀǶâ-efficient À½ÉÊs: Consider Åê»ñ¤¹¤ëing through Isas or ǯ¶âs where ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës are ÀǶâ-²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê or ÀǶâ-deferred.

2. Make use of your ǯ¼¡¤Î ÀǶâ-²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê allowance: Each year, you have a ÀǶâ-²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê allowance for »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës. Make sure to use this efficiently by spreading your ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës over ¿½Å¤Î ÀǶâ years where possible.

3. Á껦¤¹¤ë »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ losses: If you have any »ñËÜ¡¿¼óÅÔ losses from other Åê»ñs, you can Á껦¤¹¤ë these against your ¿­¤Ó¡Ê¤ë¡Ës, ¸º¤º¤ëing your Á´ÂΤˤ錄¤ë ÀǶ⠵Á̳¡¿ÉéºÄ. It's important to ¸ø¼°Ê¸½ñ¡¤Ç§¤á¤ë that these losses need to be ÅÐÏ¿¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ëd with HMRC within 4 years of them arising and can be carried º£¸å ̵´ü¸Â¤Ë¡¿ÉÔÌÀ³Î¤Ë.

4. G ift »ñ»ºs: Consider gifting »ñ»ºs to your spouse or family members who may be on a lower ÀǶ⠶ػߡʤ¹¤ë¡Ëd and have them cash in the »ñ»ºs, ¸ú²ÌŪ¤Ë ¸º¤º¤ëing the ÀǶ⠵Á̳¡¿ÉéºÄ.

Get your ºâÀ¯¾å¤Î planning question answered?

ºâÀ¯¾å¤Î planning can help you grow your wealth and ³Î¼Â¤Ë¤¹¤ë your ºâÀ¯¡¿¶âÍ»s are as ÀǶâ efficient as possible.

A ½ÅÍ×¤Ê driver for many people is Åê»ñ¤¹¤ëing for or in Â࿦, ÀǶâ planning and Áê³ʪ·ï.

If you have a ºâÀ¯¾å¤Î planning or advice question, our ÀìÌç²Ès can help answer it.?

Email: editor@thisismoney.co.uk with the »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ë line: ºâÀ¯¾å¤Î planning?

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