Capital gains Tax Info PLEASE!!!!!

mkrbwfc

My partner holds 3500 shares in Barclays Bank obtained through a sharesave employee options scheme each year over the last 15 years. She is no longer an employee. We had anticipated selling half in this financial year and half in the next one to avoid Capital gains tax.

The problem i have is that there are rumours that the bank will be taken over and subsequently i may have to sell them and will get stung on CGT. This seems unfair.

What options do i have in order to avoid this tax. Is it likely that if i sell them all at £7.50 for example that it will be picked up as she is not a taxpayer currently (She is a housewife) or could i transfer half to me? If i do this how do i go about it and how much would i be allowed to sell without incurring CGT?

One final point is how the CGT is worked out as she started getting the shares in 1990? Sorry to be a nuisance.

All information and advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Mark

tom188

Rumours... there are always rumours. at the moment anything and everything is a target of a bit so it seems.

quite often when a company is taken over the purchaser will offer a scheme such as loan notes, which allows you to take the money over a (say) 5 year period. this means you can make use of 5 exemption periods.

your oh is not an income tax payer currently, however she would be just as liable to cgt as the next person. to not declare capital gains where tax is due is tax evasion and as such is a criminal offence.

see http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/cgt1.htm for the inland revenues guide to capital gains tax.

Petmidget

Firstly I would check the terms of the schemes, you may be pleasantly surprised to find if they are authorised by HMRC and you fulfill the holding time conditions that they are exempted from CGT.

Failing that the CGT is worked out as the difference between the sale price and option price and worked out from the option date you acquired them.

Plus with any taper relief and your OH personal allowances (IT and CGT) you might find the tax involved isnt huge.