Top 10 tips on easing the pain of capital gains tax

Capital gains tax is payable when you dispose of assets and this can include a gift as well as a sale, but there are a number of strategies for mitigating this tax

Capital gains tax (CGT) is a sort of good news/bad news tax. It is only payable when you make a profit on the disposal of assets that are assessable and there are various ways to minimise the tax payable. First of all the facts. CGT is payable on the disposal of an asset. A disposal does not necessarily mean a sale. The gift of an asset is a disposal for CGT purposes, although gifts between spouses and civil partners do not trigger a CGT charge. It may be possible to hold over the gain on a gift where the asset is a business or the disposal is to or from a trust. Where a gain is held over...