| Your share of the price | £3,000,000 |
| Your share of fees and costs | -£190,000 |
| Taxable gain (after cost and the £3,000 allowance) | £2,807,000 |
| Tax at 18% on £1,000,000 | -£180,000 |
| Tax at 24% on £1,807,000 | -£433,680 |
| Total Capital Gains Tax | -£613,680 |
How it works it out.
- It takes your share of the sale price and of the selling costs.
- It subtracts what you paid for your shares and the £3,000 yearly tax-free allowance. What is left is the gain.
- If you qualify for Business Asset Disposal Relief, the first £1 million of gains in your lifetime is taxed at 18%.
- Everything above that, or all of it if you do not qualify, is taxed at 24%.
Rates are from gov.uk for the 2026 to 2027 tax year: Business Asset Disposal Relief and Capital Gains Tax rates. Checked 7 October 2026.
Questions owners ask.
What rate of tax do you pay when you sell a company in the UK?
For most owners selling shares, gains are taxed at 24%. If you qualify for Business Asset Disposal Relief, the first £1 million of lifetime gains is taxed at 18% for sales on or after 6 April 2026.
What changed in April 2026?
The Business Asset Disposal Relief rate rose from 14% to 18% for sales on or after 6 April 2026. It was 10% for sales up to 5 April 2025.
Who qualifies for Business Asset Disposal Relief?
Broadly, you must be an employee or office holder of a trading company and have held at least 5% of its shares and voting rights for at least two years before the sale. The full rules are on gov.uk.
Are adviser fees deducted before tax?
Costs of selling, such as broker, legal and accounting fees, are generally deducted when working out the gain. This calculator treats them that way.
The number you can change.
Tax and fees are mostly fixed. The price is not. The fastest way to keep more is to make the business worth more before you sell it.