Capital Gains Tax (CGT) applies when you sell or dispose of a business asset for more than its cost base. This includes property, shares, business goodwill and other capital assets. Understanding CGT is important for business planning - especially if you are considering selling your business, disposing of significant assets or restructuring. Many countries offer concessions or discounts for small businesses and long-held assets.
Identify whether the asset is a CGT asset (most business assets are)
Calculate the cost base (purchase price + acquisition costs + capital improvements)
Determine the capital proceeds (sale price or market value)
Calculate the capital gain or loss (proceeds minus cost base)
Check if you qualify for any CGT discounts or concessions
Apply the appropriate discount (e.g., 50% discount for assets held over 12 months in Australia)
Include the net capital gain in your tax return
Offset capital losses against capital gains where permitted
Businesses in United Arab Emirates operating under the VAT + Corporate Tax system must meet these compliance requirements set by FTA:
Not keeping records of the original cost base and improvement costs
Forgetting that CGT applies to business goodwill when selling a business
Not applying available small business CGT concessions
Missing the 12-month holding period for the CGT discount by disposing too early
Not offsetting capital losses against gains in the correct order
Confusing capital gains with ordinary income for tax reporting
SortBooks connects to your Xero account and handles VAT + Corporate Tax compliance automatically. Every transaction is categorised with the correct tax treatment, bank feeds are reconciled in real-time and your FTA-ready reports are always up to date. No more last-minute scrambles or manual data entry.
Every transaction gets the correct VAT + Corporate Tax code automatically - 97%+ accuracy from day one.
Generate compliant reports for FTA at any time - no reconciliation needed.
Never miss a filing deadline. SortBooks tracks your obligations and reminds you in advance.
CGT applies whenever you sell or dispose of a business asset for more than its cost base. This includes selling business premises, shares, goodwill, intellectual property and other capital assets. It also applies when you sell your business as a going concern.
Yes. Most countries offer concessions for small businesses. Australia has four specific small business CGT concessions that can significantly reduce or eliminate CGT. The UK has Business Asset Disposal Relief. The US has qualified small business stock exclusions. Check your country's specific concessions.
SortBooks correctly categorises asset purchases, improvements and disposals in Xero. It maintains an accurate asset register that records cost bases, enabling you and your accountant to calculate CGT accurately when an asset is disposed of.
Join thousands of United Arab Emirates businesses using AI to handle their bookkeeping and tax compliance.