Capital gains tax (CGT) receipts reached a record £24.2bn in 2024-25, up 89% from £12.8bn from the previous tax year.

Asset owners raced to sell business and properties due to fears the former chancellor Rachel Reeves would hike rates in the 2024 Budget

The figure increased by £11.4bn year on year, more than the total of CGT collected in any year between 1987-88 and 2019-20.

The latest figures eclipsed the previous record of £17bn set in 2021-22, reflecting asset sales after the pandemic.

The number of taxpayers paying CGT also reached a record high. HMRC said there were 584,000 CGT taxpayers in 2024-25, up by 181,000 from 403,000 a year earlier, representing a 45% increase, the largest annual increase since 1987-88.