Background Note
4.Individuals do not have to pay capital gains tax (CGT) unless their chargeable gains (net of all allowable losses) for a tax year exceed the “annual exempt amount” (AEA) for the year. The AEA is not available to non-domiciled individuals who claim the remittance basis of taxation for the tax year. Personal representatives of deceased persons are entitled to the AEA for the tax year in which the individual dies and the following two tax years. Trustees of settled property are entitled to a fraction of the AEA for an individual. In most cases the fraction is one-half, but a smaller fraction applies in some cases. Trusts for the benefit of certain vulnerable individuals are entitled to the full AEA due to an individual.
5.The AEA is automatically increased by reference to inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index for the 12 months to September in the preceding tax year, rounded up to the next £100. Parliament can override automatic indexation and set a different figure in the Finance Act.
6.The AEA for the tax year 2013-14 is £10,900.
