CGT mitigation query!

Just split the holding with your wife and sell half the shares this year and the other half next. That way you get four lots of CGT annual exemptions.

What wife??!

Actually I do have one(!), and splitting the holding between us is already on the agenda, which does help a lot. However unfortunately it's a condition of the sale that the whole shareholding is sold at once - bummer (especially as it's happening just a few weeks into the tax year).

So do you reckon there was anything else we could have done 12 months ago, though?

Thanks Dave

In article , Dave P writes

From what you say I suspect that it 'may' qualify for business asset taper relief (BATR)

If so and you have held the shares for a year then you should be entitled to 50% taper relief.

With transferring some to the spouse and two lots of annual exemption as well might this wipe out the gain altogether? You will need to go through the computations carefully.

As to clever things that could have been done initially, conceivably the shares could have been acquired by a pension fund and thus the gain would be CGT free, although the annuity would ultimately be taxed.