What will I actually keep?

It starts with the headline price for the company, takes off debt the buyer will repay and adds cash left in the business to reach the equity value. It then applies your shareholding, takes off your share of selling costs and deducts capital gains tax at 2026/27 rates. The result is what lands in your account, followed by your inheritance tax exposure before and after the sale.

It depends on more than the headline price. Debt is usually repaid from the price and cash added to it, then you receive your share, less your costs of selling and capital gains tax. On a qualifying sale, gains up to the £1m BADR lifetime limit are taxed at 18% and the rest at up to 24%, so you'll usually keep noticeably less than your share of the headline figure.

It means the buyer prices the business as if it had no cash and no debt. On completion, debt such as bank loans is repaid out of the price, and cash left in the business is usually added to it. So the amount paid for the shares, the equity value, can be quite different from the headline figure. The calculator shows each step.

Your gain is your share of the equity value, less your selling costs and what you paid for your shares. If you say you qualify for BADR, gains up to the £1m lifetime limit are taxed at 18%. Other gains are taxed at 18% within your unused basic rate band and 24% above it, after the £3,000 annual exempt amount.

Shares in a trading company often qualify for Business Relief, which from 6 April 2026 gives 100% relief on the first £2.5m of qualifying business property per person and 50% above that. Cash from a sale usually doesn't qualify, and relief is usually lost from the date of a binding contract for sale. So the same wealth can face more inheritance tax, at 40%, once it's held as cash.

Before the sale, it adds your share of the equity value to your other assets, with Business Relief on the shares. After, it uses your other assets plus what you keep, with no Business Relief. Both use the £325,000 nil-rate band, the £175,000 residence nil-rate band if your home passes to your children, tapered for estates over £2m, and a 40% rate.

It assumes you're a UK resident individual, the whole price is paid in cash at completion, and none of your BADR lifetime limit has been used. It ignores working capital adjustments, earn-outs, rollover, the time value of money and lifetime gifts. The inheritance tax figures are for one person, with no spouse or charity exemption. Treat the result as a general indication, not advice.

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Make sure you meet the Business Asset Disposal Relief conditions for the full two years before the sale, which can save up to £60,000 per person. Deal with surplus cash and property early, and think about how the price is paid, as earn-outs, deferred payments and rollover are taxed differently. Plan for inheritance tax before your shares become cash, and get advice before you agree terms.