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Business exit planning for UK company owners.
The personal side of selling your company: the tax, the timing, and the income the sale has to fund, on 2026/27 figures
Where are you on the road to a sale?
Five quick questions, no figures to look up. See your stage and what matters most now.
5 quick questions
Your result
Answer the five questions to see your stage and what matters most now.
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What matters most now
Information, not personal advice. Based on your answers and the rules in England for 2026/27.
In this guide · 4 stages · 1 check · 5 calculators · 8 guides · 1 checklist · 2 videos
A guide to the money side of selling your company.
For owners of UK trading companies who may sell in the next few years. It covers the personal side of business exit planning: the tax you pay, the timing, and the income the sale must fund.
Start with the five-question check above. It tells you which of four stages you are at, from more than two years out to the day after the sale. Each stage has the steps, calculators and guides that matter then, and a way to talk it through with an adviser.
- Your stage
- What you need
- The relief
- Pension first
- Deal structure
- Income after
Written for owners of UK trading companies. Figures checked against gov.uk on 23 September 2026. Information, not personal advice.
Key figures, 2026/27
The numbers that decide what you keep.
Sources: gov.uk capital gains rates, HMRC helpsheets HS275 and HS277, and gov.uk Business Relief guidance, checked 23 September 2026. Every calculator on this site runs on the same figures, so the answers agree with each other.
Compare
Four ways to sell, and what each means for you.
Who buys your company changes how much you keep and when the money arrives. Your accountant and solicitor handle the deal itself.
Sale to a trade buyer
Another business or an investor buys the company, usually by buying your shares.
How it is taxed, and what to check
How it is taxedCapital gains tax on your gain. Business Asset Disposal Relief can tax the first £1 million of lifetime gains at 18%, with 24% above. For sales from 6 April 2027, the limit falls to £500,000.
What to checkBuyers often prefer to buy the assets rather than the shares. An asset sale is taxed in the company first, then again when the money reaches you. See the exit planning checklist.
Management buyout
Your own managers buy the company, usually funded partly by debt and partly by payments to you over time.
How it is taxed, and what to check
How it is taxedNormally a share sale, so the same capital gains rules and relief apply.
What to checkDeferred payments depend on the business doing well after you leave. Tax can be due before all of the money arrives, depending on the structure.
Employee ownership trust
A trust buys a controlling stake for the benefit of all employees, usually paying you out of future profits.
How it is taxed, and what to check
How it is taxedFor sales on or after 26 November 2025, half the gain is exempt from capital gains tax. The other half is taxed at normal rates.
What to checkBusiness Asset Disposal Relief cannot be claimed as well. Before that date the whole gain could be exempt, so older guides overstate the relief. Source: HMRC helpsheet HS277.
Passing it to family
You give or sell shares to children or other family members, often over several years.
How it is taxed, and what to check
How it is taxedGift relief can defer capital gains tax. Business Relief may remove the shares from inheritance tax, at 100% on up to £2.5 million from April 2026.
What to checkControl, your own income and fairness between children matter as much as the tax. See inheritance tax for business owners.
Stage 1 · More than two years out
What is it worth, and what do you need?
Most of the money in an exit is made here, not at the negotiating table. This is the only stage where the two-year qualifying clock can still be started. It is also the last point where the income you need can still change the plan.
Start here · CalculatorBusiness valuation calculatorA rough value from profit and a multiple, then the tax on the sale and what you keep.Open the calculator
Video · 2 minHow we help business ownersJames Mackay, our Managing Director, explains how we work with business owners and directors. He covers turning business profit into personal wealth, working out how much is enough, and planning an exit.
Read next
Guide · 11 min readWhat you need to sell forWork back from the income you want to the sale price that funds it.
Guide · 15 min readWhen should I sell my business?The personal signals that matter more than the market ones.
Checklist · 15 min readThe exit planning checklistShare sale against asset sale, the tax on each, and what to settle before you sign.
The firm's view · 13 min readThe mistakes we see owners makeWhat goes wrong in the final months, and what it costs when it does.
Next · Stage 2One to two years out
Want to talk this stage through? Financial advice for business owners.
Stage 2 · One to two years out
How much of it you keep.
Business Asset Disposal Relief can save up to £60,000 per qualifying shareholder at today's rates. The conditions have to be genuine, and they have to have been in place for two years at completion. A pension contribution from the company before the sale can be one of the largest figures in the exercise.
Start here · CalculatorBusiness Asset Disposal ReliefThe tax on your sale at 18%, whether you qualify, and what a second shareholder saves.Open the calculator
Read next
Calculator · opens on this pageCapital gains tax calculatorThe tax on a gain at 2026/27 rates, with the relief where it applies.
Guide · 16 min readReducing the tax before it is too lateThe decisions that only work if they are made well before heads of terms.
Guide · 19 min readInheritance tax for business ownersWhat Business Relief covers while you own the company, and what it stops covering.
Want to talk this stage through? Financial advice for business owners.
Stage 3 · The final year
The deal, and how it changes your plan.
A price agreed is not money received. Earn-outs, loan notes and deferred payments arrive on someone else's timetable, and your own plan has to survive the gap. Tax can fall due before all of the money arrives, depending on how the deal is structured.
Read next
- ReferenceThe four ways to sell, side by sideTrade sale, management buyout, employee ownership trust or family, and how each is taxed.
Guide · 10 min readTax when you sell a UK companyWhat is charged, when it falls due, and which reliefs are still open to you.
Want to talk this stage through? Financial advice for business owners.
Stage 4 · The day after
The money is now your retirement.
The relief that kept your shares out of inheritance tax usually ends the day they are sold. What arrives is cash in your estate, and from April 2027 your unused pension joins it. The questions change from tax on a sale to income for life.
Start here · CalculatorWhat the money producesHow long a pot lasts at the income you want, year by year.Open the calculator
Video · 2 minHow we plan retirement with youJames Mackay explains how we help people approaching retirement. He covers working out how much is enough, and turning pensions, savings and investments into an income that lasts.
Read next
The firm's view · 12 min readYou have sold your business. Now what?The first year after completion, and the case for doing less in it.
Calculator · opens on this pageInheritance tax calculatorYour estate before and after the April 2027 pension change, side by side.
Guide · 14 min readNine ways to reduce inheritance taxThe allowances, gifts and structures available once the proceeds are yours.
Next · When you want a plan of your ownFinancial advice for business owners
Questions owners ask about business exit planning.
How much tax will I pay when I sell my business?
On a share sale you pay capital gains tax on the gain, after a £3,000 annual exemption. If you qualify for Business Asset Disposal Relief, the first £1 million of lifetime gains is taxed at 18% (£500,000 for sales from 6 April 2027). Gains above that are taxed at 24% for a higher-rate taxpayer. Your accountant should work out the figure for your own sale.
Do I qualify for Business Asset Disposal Relief?
For a share sale you normally need to be an officer or employee of a trading company. You also need at least 5% of its ordinary shares and voting rights, plus a 5% economic interest. Every condition must have been met for the two years before the sale. HMRC helpsheet HS275 sets out the detail.
Is a share sale or an asset sale better for me?
A share sale is usually better for the seller, because the gain is taxed once, on you. In an asset sale the company pays corporation tax on its gains. The money is then taxed again when it reaches you. Buyers often prefer asset sales, so the structure is part of the negotiation.
Should I pay into my pension before I sell?
It is worth considering while the company is still yours. An employer contribution is normally deductible for corporation tax and carries no National Insurance. The annual allowance is £60,000, and unused allowance from the previous three years can be carried forward. After the sale, without earnings, your own tax-relieved contributions are limited to £3,600 a year gross.
How does employee ownership trust relief work now?
For sales on or after 26 November 2025, half the gain on a sale to an employee ownership trust is exempt from capital gains tax. The other half is taxed at normal rates. Business Asset Disposal Relief cannot be claimed on the same sale. Before that date the whole gain could be exempt.
What happens to inheritance tax after I sell?
While you own a trading company, its shares can qualify for Business Relief and fall outside your estate. Once sold, the proceeds are usually cash in your estate, taxed at 40% above your allowances. From April 2027 unused pension funds join the estate too. Planning for this starts before the sale, not after it.
What should I do with the money after the sale?
There is rarely a need to decide everything in the first months. Clear what needs clearing, set aside what you will spend soon, and use allowances such as the £20,000 ISA allowance. Then decide what the rest has to produce as income, and for how long. The drawdown calculator above shows how long a pot lasts.
Before you go further
Who this guide is not for.
We would rather say so now than waste your time.
- You want the tax number and nothing else.That is your accountant's work, and they should do it.
- You are looking for a quick win rather than a plan that holds for twenty years.
- You want to be told what to invest in, without first agreeing what the money is for.
Important information. This page gives information, not personal advice. Tax rules and reliefs can change, and how they apply depends on your circumstances and the terms of your sale.
Tax on a business sale is work for your accountant, and the legal terms are work for your solicitor. The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invest.
If you want a recommendation for your own position, that is what our financial planning for business owners is for.
Reviewed by
BSc, MLIBF, PETR, Chartered ALIBF · Co-Founder and Chartered Associate
Chris has spent over a decade in financial planning and specialises in research and technical analysis. He checks every figure and calculation on this page before it is published.
PLANNING AN EXIT IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS?
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