In this tutorial we will be looking at the different CGT options in ShareScope.

ShareScope includes a comprehensive Capital Gains Tax calculator that can calculate your CGT on non-business assets which includes all fully listed shares in ShareScope. AIM listed shares are classed as business assets – ShareScope does not currently calculate Taper Relief for business assets.

All transactions entered in ShareScope will use the same rules to calculate CGT, regardless of the item or share type. There are options to ignore certain transactions in the CGT calculations though. In the Record a transaction dialog, click the button to Show CGT:

The dialog then opens up further, displaying the information below:

To ignore the entire transaction or just part of it from the CGT calculations, select the appropriate box.

On your transactions view you can view a running total of your Capital Gains before or after losses are applied:

To see how these amounts are calculated, simply double left click on one of the values. A dialog similar to the one below will be displayed:

Note: Losses used to generate lower gains in the example above are generated from other transactions within the portfolio. Gains on your own reports may also be reduced using losses carried forward from previous years.

For shares that you still have a current holding in, the report for the share will show you your potential gain or loss based on the latest closing price for that share, as in the example below. This can be useful when considering selling shares; you can see your likely gain or loss.

To view a report for the entire portfolio, right click in the transaction screen and go to Capital Gains on the menu:

The keyboard shortcut for the current years’ report is the comma key (,) on your keyboard. As you can submit your CGT report for the last financial year up until 31 January of the following year, the ‘current year’ will automatically change on the 1st February each year to the next year that is due. For example, the menu above shows the current year as 2007/2008 – this will remain until 1 February 2009 when it will change to 2008/2009.

In the CGT report for a particular tax year, all transactions are listed in date order. The report (as can be seen below) shows how each calculation is made – from identifying the appropriate purchase, calculating purchase and sale costs, applying taper relief and/or indexation and offsetting gains against any losses incurred. For more information on how CGT is calculated, please see the separate ShareScope Guide to CGT.

In the example above we can see a loss that has been carried forward from a previous tax year. Taper relief is being applied where applicable and this has reduced the chargeable gain on the BP transaction. The losses carried forward are not applied to either transaction as these are still below the annual exemption amount.

We can now click on the Summary button to view the CGT summary for this portfolio for this tax year:-

Note that the ‘More detail’ option is selected. This shows the individual transactions under each share within the summary. Choose the ‘Ignore CGT exemption’ option to calculate the tax on the full gain amount. If the portfolio is, for example, for a husband and wife, you can select the ‘Double exemption’ option as each spouse is entitled to their own annual exemption.

The other options on the Capital Gains sub-menu are:

Note: The CGT calculator is updated in line with any legislative changes as part of Ionic Information's policy of free program upgrades to all customers. A principle ShareScope follows is to show clearly how a CGT calculation is derived. It is your responsibility to check that CGT calculations are correct in every respect. For more detail please refer to your accountant, the Inland Revenue (020 7438 6276) or a detailed book.

Remember, if you have any trouble finding or using any of these features, please don’t hesitate to call our Customer Support team. They will be delighted to help.