Skip to content
ENExplore Calculators

Capital Gains Calculator

Work out the capital gain on a disposal and the tax due after allowances and losses.

About Capital Gains Calculator

Acquisition and disposal costs are deductible, and the annual allowance is applied before the rate. That is why the effective rate on the gross gain is always below the statutory rate. Spreading disposals across tax years to use more than one annual allowance is one of the simplest legitimate ways to reduce a capital gains bill.

Formula

Capital Gains

Taxable gain = proceeds − cost − costs of sale − annual allowance; tax = taxable gain × rate

annual allowance
Gain exempt from tax each year
effective rate
Tax as a share of the whole gain, lower than the headline rate because of the allowance

Worked example

With the default values below, Capital Gains Calculator returns Capital Gains Tax Due of $3,620.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Sale proceedsminimum 0
60,000
Original costminimum 0
38,000
Costs of purchase and saleminimum 0
900
Tax-free allowanceminimum 0
3,000
Capital gains tax rateaccepts 0–100 %
20 %

Results

Capital Gains Tax Due
$3,620.00
Gross Gain
$21,100.00
Taxable Gain After Allowance
$18,100.00
Net Proceeds After Tax
$55,480.00
Effective Rate on the Gross Gain
17.16%

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Capital Gains
  3. 3Capital Gains Tax Due= 3,620.00
  4. 4Gross Gain= 21,100.00
  5. 5Taxable Gain After Allowance= 18,100.00
  6. 6Net Proceeds After Tax= 55,480.00
  7. 7Effective Rate on the Gross Gain= 17.16

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
  • This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Capital Gains calculated?

Taxable gain = proceeds − cost − costs of sale − annual allowance; tax = taxable gain × rate Acquisition and disposal costs are deductible, and the annual allowance is applied before the rate. That is why the effective rate on the gross gain is always below the statutory rate.

Why does Capital Gains matter?

Spreading disposals across tax years to use more than one annual allowance is one of the simplest legitimate ways to reduce a capital gains bill.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 5 inputs: Sale proceeds, Original cost, Costs of purchase and sale, Tax-free allowance, Capital gains tax rate. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.

Related Calculators

Capital Gains Calculator | Calcrivo