Rolling over capital gains can be an effective way for business owners to defer Capital Gains Tax (CGT) when selling or disposing of certain business assets. This is done using Business Asset Rollover Relief which allows taxpayers to postpone the tax on gains if all or part of the proceeds are reinvested in new business assets. Essentially, the gain on the old asset is “rolled over” into the cost of the new asset, with any CGT liability deferred until the new asset is eventually sold.

If only a portion of the sale proceeds is used to purchase new assets, a partial rollover claim can be made. Provisional rollover relief is also available for cases where new assets are intended to be acquired but have not yet been purchased. Additionally, relief may apply when proceeds are used to improve existing business assets. The total relief depends on the amount reinvested.

To qualify, assets must generally be purchased within three years of selling the old ones (or up to one year prior), and both the old and new assets must be used in the business. The business must be trading at the time of sale and reinvestment. Claims must be submitted within four years of the end of the tax year in which the new asset was acquired (or the old asset sold, if later). HMRC may, in certain circumstances, allow extensions to these time limits.