CGT – Beware Don´t Do What I Nearly Did

If like me you have most of your investments in tax-exempt accounts such as ISAs and SIPPs you probably don´t think much about Capital Gains Tax (CGT) unless, for instance, you are thinking about selling a second home or Buy to Let property.  I do have some investments outside of my ISAs and SIPP but it has always been my intention to keep drawdowns from this to less than the current UK £12,000 (2019/20) allowance.

A few months back I decided to consolidate my investment accounts and transfer out of an Investment Trust (IT) savings accounts which I had had for many years and transfer it to the broker where I hold an ISA and a trading account.  There was no facility to directly transfer the IT holdings so I was about to sell the investments to do a cash transfer when the issue of CGT suddenly struck me.  I had held the IT investments so long that the capital gain would certainly exceed the £12,000 CGT allowance.  An easy solution – part sell in separate tax years.   Perhaps had I planned ahead I would have Bed and Breakfasted in previous years.