Negligible Value Claims

What Is a Negligible Value Claim?

A negligible value claim under s.24(2) TCGA 1992 allows you to be treated as though you have disposed of and immediately reacquired an asset that has become worthless or virtually worthless. This creates an allowable capital loss without the need to actually sell the asset.^[1]

This is particularly important for shares in companies that have gone into liquidation, been struck off, or simply ceased to have any value. Without a negligible value claim, you would need to find a buyer (even at a nominal price) to trigger a disposal for CGT purposes.

When to Make a Claim

A negligible value claim is appropriate when:

• A company whose shares you hold has been dissolved or struck off the Companies House register
• A company has gone into insolvent liquidation with no prospect of a return to shareholders
• An asset has been destroyed or become permanently unusable
• Cryptocurrency or digital tokens have become completely worthless
• Any other asset has declined to a negligible value

HMRC’s Negligible Value List

HMRC maintains an official list of shares and securities that it accepts as having negligible value. The list is updated regularly and includes companies that have been wound up, struck off, or otherwise ceased to have value.^[2]

If your shares are on the list, the claim process is straightforward — you simply reference the list entry. For shares not on the list, you must provide evidence that the asset has negligible value, such as:

• Companies House records showing dissolution or liquidation
• Liquidator’s reports confirming no distribution to shareholders
• Evidence that the company’s net asset value is nil or negative
• Market evidence (or lack of market) for the shares

Back-Dating Claims

Negligible value claims can be back-dated to any time when the asset had negligible value. This allows you to match the loss against gains in an earlier tax year, potentially recovering CGT already paid.^[1]

When back-dating, two time limits apply:

• The asset must have had negligible value at the date you are claiming to (you must be able to demonstrate this)
• The overall claim must be made within 4 years of the end of the tax year to which you are back-dating

How to Make a Claim

You make a negligible value claim on your Self Assessment tax return (form SA108, capital gains pages). Alternatively, you can write to HMRC.^[3]

The claim should include:

• Details of the asset (company name, number of shares, date acquired, cost)
• The date you are claiming the deemed disposal occurred
• Evidence that the asset had negligible value on that date
• Whether you want to use the loss in the current year or back-date it

Worked Example

Tom bought 10,000 shares in XYZ Ltd for £25,000 in January 2021. The company went into insolvent liquidation in March 2025 with no prospect of any return to shareholders. Tom makes a negligible value claim in his 2025/26 tax return:

Tom had gains of £20,000 in 2024/25. He can back-date the negligible value claim to March 2025 (falling in 2024/25) and offset the £20,000 gain, recovering the CGT paid. The remaining £5,000 loss would need to reduce 2024/25 gains to nil (as it is a current-year loss in that year) and cannot be preserved if it exceeds the gains.

EIS/SEIS Share Losses

If the shares qualified for EIS or SEIS income tax relief, a negligible value claim can be particularly valuable. The loss (reduced by the income tax relief already received) can be claimed as an income tax loss rather than a capital loss:^[3]

• The allowable loss = original cost minus EIS/SEIS income tax relief received
• This loss can be set against income in the year of loss or the previous year
• For a higher-rate taxpayer, this gives relief at 40% (or 45%) instead of the CGT rate

Further Reading

• Capital Losses: How to Use Them — the fundamentals of loss relief
• Carrying Forward Losses — how to preserve and use losses in future years
• EIS & SEIS CGT Exemption — how venture capital scheme losses work
• CGT on Shares — general rules for share disposals