CGT/ DRIP/share sales

Tri2012

I’d appreciate ,if some assistance, as a basic rate tax payer.

I had  shareplans with my employer, bank which were a total fail following 2008 crash and covid.

September 2022  i sold matured share plans  costing £10800 for £9331
July 2025 shareplans where shares cost upwards of £2.84 to £3.80 each at 78pence -a loss of £2606-no point keeping them as will never make the shareplan prices i paid!

I’ve been having a google and believe I can complete an on line HMRC for CGT losses  for both 2022 and 2025 share sales.

If this is correct then i would complete a form for the loss for 2022 asap for 24.25 tax year and then what i;ve lost  in July after April for 25/26 tax year?  Or do I complete that form now as well?

Would i then be able to sell further shares at  a profit of £7000 and there wouldn’t be any CGT to pay?

All of the other sells i would be selling would be DRIP - I’m being taxed by HMRC as the dividends for shares are over £500.  I have all the historical share prices thank you Yahoo!

I’m trying to lower my tax liability and it’s a bit frustrating !  Employers should really explain details better about dividends, CGT -

 I know that many  of my colleagues have sold shares over the CGT limit, receive dividends  way more than mine and believe they don’t have to declare anything to HMRC.

Have i got my thoughts all wrong?

thank you in advance.

vacheron

My (limited) understanding is that you can offset a capital loss against a capital gain, but only if they both occurred in the same tax year. EDIT: Having just googled this, it appears that you can!... I guess ignorance of the detail of this rule is the one downside of having never sold shares at a loss.   

• Reporting requirement: You must claim your losses by including them on your Self Assessment tax return. The time limit for claiming a loss is generally four years after the end of the tax year in which the loss occurred, but once reported can be carried forward indefinitely.

So if, like yourself, you are sitting on a capital loss that you don't feel will ever recover, by selling, and thereby realising, say, a £2,000 loss, you can then realise a £5,000 capital gain from selling better performing shares without exceeding the £3,000 CGT threshold.

With regard to your colleagues acheiving more gains / dividends but without needing to inform HMRC, perhaps they owned their shares in an ISA where such gains are tax free?