How are married couples charged for CGT?
Chargeable gains accruing to a married couple living together are assessed on the husband unless either spouse opts otherwise. The additional charge in respect of the wife’s gains must not exceed the tax that would have been charged on her had she been separately assessed in respect of her own gains. But the husband does not get the unused part of the wife’s annual exemption. Nor does he get two annual exemptions in a year in which the wife has no gains.
Each of you may set your allowable losses against each other’s gains. Either of you can opt, on or before 1 April in the following tax year, to be separately assessed on gains accruing in a tax year. If either of you so opts, then the set-off of losses does not apply, and the spouse with the loss can only carry forward the loss against his/ her own future gains.