Research
Business Asset Disposal Relief claims: what HMRC's statistics show
HMRC figures show 61,000 people claimed Business Asset Disposal Relief in 2024/25 on £18.5bn of gains, as sellers moved ahead of the rate rises.
HMRC's latest statistics show that 61,000 taxpayers claimed Business Asset Disposal Relief on £18.5 billion of gains in the 2024 to 2025 tax year, paying £1.8 billion of tax at the relief rate. That is 45% more claimants than the year before, and the qualifying gains were 67% higher. HMRC says the announced rise in the relief rate, from 10% to 14% and then 18%, contributed to the timing of these sales. In plain terms, a lot of business owners sold while the 10% rate was still available.
This article sets out what the official figures show, who claims the relief, what it costs, and what the higher rates mean if you're selling now.
The overall trend
HMRC's Capital Gains Tax statistics, updated in August 2026, give four years of figures for the relief. The 2024 to 2025 jump stands out against three broadly flat years before it.
| Tax year | Taxpayers claiming | Qualifying gains | Tax charged at relief rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 to 2022 | 48,000 | £12,732m | £1,222m |
| 2022 to 2023 | 45,000 | £12,628m | £1,213m |
| 2023 to 2024 | 42,000 | £11,054m | £1,079m |
| 2024 to 2025 | 61,000 | £18,475m | £1,824m |
Source: HMRC, Capital Gains Tax statistics, Table 4 (individuals and trusts). Figures include Investors' Relief. 2022 to 2023 onwards are provisional.
HMRC's tax relief statistics give a longer run of claimant numbers. They show 43,000 claimants in 2017 to 2018, and 47,000 in each of 2018 to 2019, 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021. So the 61,000 claimants in 2024 to 2025 is higher than any year from 2017 to 2018 onwards in HMRC's published figures.
Two points are worth noting. First, claimant numbers held up after the lifetime limit was cut from £10 million to £1 million in March 2020, but the value of the relief fell sharply (see the cost section below). Second, about 8% of all capital gains tax in 2024 to 2025 came from disposals qualifying for the relief, according to HMRC.
Who claims: the size of gains
The relief is used by a wide range of sellers, but the money is concentrated at the top. HMRC reports that 69% of qualifying gains and 70% of the tax at the relief rate in 2024 to 2025 came from the 25% of individuals with qualifying gains of £500,000 or more.
| Qualifying gain (lower limit) | Individuals | Qualifying gains | Tax charged |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 | 5,000 | £32m | £2m |
| £10,000 | 8,000 | £129m | £11m |
| £25,000 | 6,000 | £224m | £21m |
| £50,000 | 8,000 | £575m | £55m |
| £100,000 | 11,000 | £1,866m | £182m |
| £250,000 | 8,000 | £2,901m | £285m |
| £500,000 | 8,000 | £5,929m | £588m |
| £1,000,000 | 7,000 | £6,787m | £678m |
| Total individuals | 61,000 | £18,443m | £1,821m |
Source: HMRC, Capital Gains Tax statistics, Table 4.1, 2024 to 2025 tax year (provisional). Individuals only; trusts accounted for £32m of gains. Numbers are rounded, so bands may not sum to the totals.
Some patterns stand out:
- The top band doubled in a year. The number of individuals with qualifying gains of £1 million or more rose from 4,000 in 2023 to 2024 to 7,000 in 2024 to 2025, and their qualifying gains rose from £3,896m to £6,787m. With a £1 million lifetime limit, this band is made up of people using their full allowance.
- Smaller claims are common but small in value. On our calculation from the table, individuals with qualifying gains under £100,000 made up around 44% of claimants but about 5% of qualifying gains.
- Trusts are marginal. HMRC says trusts accounted for less than 1% of gains and tax at the relief rate in every year shown.
HMRC doesn't publish a breakdown of this relief by region, age or business sector. Its regional and age tables cover capital gains tax as a whole, so they can't be used to say where, or at what age, sellers claim this relief.
The cost of the relief
The tax charged at the relief rate isn't the same as the cost of the relief. The cost is HMRC's estimate of the extra tax that would have been paid without it. HMRC publishes this in its tax relief statistics.
| Tax year | Estimated cost | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 to 2019 | £2,700m | Outturn |
| 2019 to 2020 | £2,800m | Outturn |
| 2020 to 2021 | £1,100m | Outturn |
| 2021 to 2022 | £1,200m | Outturn |
| 2022 to 2023 | £1,200m | Outturn |
| 2023 to 2024 | £1,000m | Outturn |
| 2024 to 2025 | £3,400m | Forecast |
| 2025 to 2026 | £800m | Forecast |
Sources: HMRC, Tax relief statistics (January 2026) for 2020 to 2021 onwards; HMRC, Non-structural tax relief statistics (December 2023) for 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020. Figures include Investors' Relief.
The drop from £2.8 billion to £1.1 billion between 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021 follows the cut in the lifetime limit from £10 million to £1 million, which HMRC confirms was announced and took effect from 11 March 2020.
The forecast for 2024 to 2025 is £3.4 billion. HMRC explains that this reflects taxpayers bringing forward eligible sales in anticipation of the rate increases, with a related fall to £800 million forecast for 2025 to 2026 because sales that would have happened in that year happened earlier. These are forecasts, not outturn, and are likely to be revised.
What the rate rises mean for sellers now
The relief rate has risen in two steps:
- 10% for disposals before 6 April 2025
- 14% for disposals in 2025/26
- 18% for disposals from 6 April 2026
On a qualifying gain of £1 million, that means tax of £100,000 at 10%, £140,000 at 14% and £180,000 at 18%. The main capital gains tax rate for higher rate taxpayers is 24%, so the relief still saves up to £60,000 on the full £1 million lifetime limit.
The 2024 to 2025 figures suggest many owners who were ready to sell did so before the rate went up. For anyone selling now, the window for the lower rates has closed, and there's no published HMRC data yet on claims at the 14% or 18% rates. HMRC publishes the Capital Gains Tax statistics once a year, so figures for 2025 to 2026 would be expected in the next edition.
What still matters is qualifying in the first place. The conditions must be met for the two years before the sale, including being an officer or employee and holding at least 5% of the ordinary shares and votes, plus a 5% economic entitlement, in a trading company or the holding company of a trading group. If the conditions fail, the full 24% rate applies to the gain. You can estimate your position with our BADR calculator, and our Business Asset Disposal Relief page explains the conditions in more detail.
Methodology and sources
All figures in this article are taken directly from HMRC's official statistics. Where we have calculated a percentage or a total, we say so.
- HMRC, Capital Gains Tax statistics (last updated 27 August 2026). Table 4: estimated numbers of liable taxpayers, amounts of qualifying gains and tax charged at the Business Asset Disposal Relief and Investors' Relief rate, tax years 2021 to 2022 to 2024 to 2025. Table A1: rates of capital gains tax. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/capital-gains-tax-statistics (opens in a new tab)
- HMRC, Capital Gains Tax commentary (27 August 2026), for the 61,000 claimants, the concentration of gains and the comment on the timing of disposals. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/capital-gains-tax-statistics/capital-gains-tax-commentary--2 (opens in a new tab)
- HMRC, Tax relief statistics (January 2026) (22 January 2026), Table 2 cost estimates for 2020 to 2021 to 2025 to 2026, and Table 5 claimant estimates for 2020 to 2021. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-reliefs/tax-relief-statistics-january-2026 (opens in a new tab)
- HMRC, Non-structural tax relief statistics (December 2023), for cost estimates for 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020 and claimant numbers for 2017 to 2018 to 2019 to 2020. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs/non-structural-tax-relief-statistics-december-2023 (opens in a new tab)
Limitations:
- Time lag. The statistics come from Self Assessment returns, so they run well behind sales. The latest full year is 2024 to 2025, and figures from 2022 to 2023 onwards are provisional and are revised as late and amended returns arrive.
- Revisions between editions. Earlier editions gave slightly different figures. For example, the January 2026 tax relief statistics estimate 39,000 claimants in 2023 to 2024, while the August 2026 Capital Gains Tax statistics give 42,000. We use the more recent figure where both exist.
- Investors' Relief is included. HMRC can't separate it from Business Asset Disposal Relief, though it says Investors' Relief claims are a very small proportion of the totals.
- Gains are before losses and the annual exempt amount, and taxpayer numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand.
- Not published: breakdowns of this relief by region, age or sector, and any figures for disposals at the 14% or 18% rates.
This article is general information, not advice. Tax rules change and their effect depends on your circumstances. Please speak to us before acting.
