Worked Examples

Lisa bought 100 AAPL shares on 15 March 2023 at £12.50 per share, paying £11.95 in broker fees. After watching the price rise over the following months, she decided to sell 45 shares on 20 January 2024 at £18.00 per share (with another £11.95 fee). She wants to calculate her capital gain for the 2023/24 tax year.

No same-day or bed & breakfast rules apply — the disposal is matched entirely against the Section 104 pool.

Marcus bought 200 MSFT shares on 12 February 2024 at £45.00 each. Later that same day, the price jumped and he sold 80 shares at £52.00 each. He then bought another 50 shares at £50.00 to top back up. Each trade cost £9.99 in fees.

When you buy and sell the same share on the same day, the same-day rule takes priority over pool matching. The disposal is matched against same-day acquisitions first. Read the full step-by-step guide →

Sarah bought 300 VOD shares on 1 June 2023 at £1.20 each (£11.95 fee). On 5 March 2024, she sold 100 shares at £0.95 hoping to crystallise a loss. However, 15 days later on 20 March 2024, she bought 100 VOD back at £0.98 (£11.95 fee). Each sale also cost £11.95.

Because she repurchased within 30 days, the bed & breakfast rule overrides the pool match. The disposal is matched against the repurchase instead. Read the full step-by-step guide →

James has been building a position in VWRL over several years. He bought 200 shares on 1 September 2022 at £75, added 150 more on 15 February 2023 at £80, and another 100 on 1 November 2023 at £85. Each buy cost £11.95 in fees. On 15 June 2024, he sold 250 shares at £95 (£11.95 fee).

All purchases are aggregated into a single Section 104 pool with a weighted average cost. When he sells, the cost is drawn proportionally. Read the full step-by-step guide →

Rachel bought 15 AMZN shares on 10 January 2022 at $2,800 each ($9.99 fee, FX rate 1.3215). On 6 June 2022, Amazon executed a 20-for-1 stock split — her 15 shares became 300 shares. She sold 100 shares on 20 September 2023 at $145 ($4.99 fee, FX 1.2631) and another 80 on 12 August 2024 at $180.50 ($4.99 fee, FX 1.3033).

A stock split does NOT trigger a disposal. The total cost basis stays the same — it's just spread across more shares, reducing the per-share cost proportionally.

Amir holds a diversified portfolio across three markets: UK (SHEL in GBP), Europe (ASML in EUR), and US (AAPL in USD). He bought positions in each during 2023 and sold partial holdings in 2024. Each trade uses the HMRC exchange rate for that month.

For CGT, all amounts must be converted to GBP at the exchange rate on the trade date. Both the acquisition cost and disposal proceeds are converted separately, so FX movements create additional gains or losses.

Priya received an RSU vest of 50 AMZN shares on 15 February 2024 when the market price was $178.50 (FX rate 1.2690). She paid income tax and NICs through payroll in cash, so she kept all 50 shares. On 10 September 2024, she sold 20 shares at $195.00 (FX 1.3032, $4.99 fee).

For CGT, an RSU vest is an acquisition at market value on the vest date. Income tax paid on vesting is separate. The CGT cost basis is the market price at vest, converted to GBP. No fees on the vest itself (shares are delivered by the employer).

David received an RSU vest of 100 GOOGL shares on 1 April 2024 at $155.20 (FX 1.2693). His employer sold 40 shares immediately at the same price to cover income tax and NICs. He kept the remaining 60 shares. On 15 November 2024, he sold 30 at $172.00 (FX 1.2952, $4.99 fee). The sell-to-cover has no brokerage fee (done internally by employer).

The sell-to-cover triggers the same-day rule. Since it happens at the same price as the vest, the CGT gain is effectively zero on that transaction.

Emma received an RSU vest of 75 MSFT shares on 15 June 2024 at $430.00 (FX 1.2709). She sold all 75 shares immediately on the same day at the same price, converting everything to cash. No brokerage fees (employer-facilitated sale).

This is the simplest RSU scenario. Since acquisition and disposal happen at the same price on the same day, the same-day rule produces a zero gain.

Oliver bought 500 SHEL shares on 10 January 2023 at £24.50 each (£11.95 fee). On 1 May 2024, he transferred 200 shares to his spouse Charlotte. He wants to know if this triggers any CGT, and what cost basis Charlotte receives.

Transfers between spouses (or civil partners) are no-gain/no-loss disposals under HMRC rules (TCGA 1992 s58). The transferor disposes at a price that produces neither gain nor loss. The recipient inherits that same cost basis. Read the full step-by-step guide →

Two purchases of BP on the same day (200 at £5 and 200 at £6) are mergedinto a single purchase of 400 shares at £5.50. A same-day sale of 300 shares is then matched against this merged buy — so merging directly affects the cost. Read the full step-by-step guide →

A single sale of 3,000 SHEL is split across all three matching rules: 500 same-day, 500 bed & breakfast, and 2,000 from the pool — each with a different cost. This is the realistic case where the rules combine. Read the full step-by-step guide →