Capital Gains Tax from first principles to the business reliefs that reduce or defer it — what is charged, how a gain is computed, and where relief lies.
Every disposal raises the same chain of questions: is there a charge at all, how large is the gain, and can a relief reduce or postpone it? This chapter begins with the scope of the tax — who is liable, what counts as a disposal, the connected persons rules and the main exempt assets — before working through the computation itself: deductible costs, enhancement expenditure and the apportionment on a part disposal, followed by the strict order in which losses, the annual exempt amount and the rates are applied. It then turns to the special positions on death, with its free uplift, and on no gain, no loss transfers between spouses, and to principal private residence relief with its deemed occupation and election rules. The closing sections cover the four business reliefs — business asset disposal relief, holdover, incorporation and rollover — and the deadlines for reporting and paying the tax.
