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UK Tax & SalaryInvestment Tax2026/27 Tax Year

General Investment Account Tax Calculator

Inputs

Salary and other income to determine tax bracket.

Results

Enter values and calculate to see results.

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Disclaimer: Tax and take-home pay estimates are based on published 2026/27 UK, Scottish and Welsh statutory rates and allowances. This is not tax advice, but an annual mathematical model. For personal tax planning or complex affairs, consult HMRC or a qualified tax adviser.

Tax on a general investment account

A general investment account has no tax wrapper, so dividends, capital gains and interest are each assessed separately against their own allowances and their own rates.

Figures stated for the 2026/27 UK tax year. Content last checked against official sources on .

What this calculator does

  • Brings the three taxable streams from an unwrapped investment account into one view.
  • Applies the £500 dividend allowance, the £3,000 capital gains annual exempt amount and the Personal Savings Allowance.
  • Determines your tax band from your other income and applies the corresponding rates.
  • Shows the total allowances used, which is a useful measure of what an ISA would have sheltered.

How the calculation works

Unlike an ISA or a pension, a general investment account gives no shelter, so each type of return is taxed under its own regime. The calculator first uses your other income to place you in a band: basic, higher or additional. Dividends are then reduced by the £500 dividend allowance and the remainder taxed at the dividend rate for your band. Capital gains are reduced by any losses brought forward, then by the £3,000 annual exempt amount, with the remainder charged at 18% for a basic rate taxpayer or 24% for a higher or additional rate taxpayer. Interest distributions are reduced by the Personal Savings Allowance — £1,000 for a basic rate taxpayer, £500 for a higher rate taxpayer and nothing at all for an additional rate taxpayer — and the remainder is charged at your marginal Income Tax rate. The three charges are then added together.

The rule

Total = dividend tax on (dividends − £500) + CGT on (gains − losses − £3,000) + Income Tax on (interest − Personal Savings Allowance).

Step by step

  1. Use other income to place the investor in the basic, higher or additional band.
  2. Deduct the £500 dividend allowance and tax the remaining dividends at the band's dividend rate.
  3. Deduct brought-forward losses and the £3,000 annual exempt amount from gains, then charge 18% or 24%.
  4. Deduct the Personal Savings Allowance from interest and charge the remainder at the marginal Income Tax rate.
  5. Add the three charges together.

Worked example

Elena earns £55,000 and holds an unwrapped portfolio that produced £2,500 in dividends, £6,000 of realised gains and £800 of interest.

What was entered

Inputs used in the worked example
Annual dividend income£2,500
Realised capital gains in year£6,000
Interest distributions£800
Other taxable income£55,000
Capital losses brought forward£0

The arithmetic

  1. £55,000 of other income puts Elena in the higher rate band.
  2. Gains of £6,000 less the £3,000 annual exempt amount leave £3,000 taxable at the higher CGT rate of 24%: £720.
  3. Interest of £800 less the £500 higher-rate Personal Savings Allowance leaves £300 taxable at 40%: £120.
  4. Across dividends, gains and interest, £4,000 of allowances were used — the amount an ISA would have made unnecessary.

What the calculator returns

Results produced by the worked example
Capital Gains Tax£720.00
Tax on interest£120.00
Allowances used£4,000.00

Key assumptions

  • All three income streams arise in the same tax year and in the same account.
  • Gains are treated as non-residential assets; residential property has its own rates and a 60-day reporting requirement.
  • The band is determined from other income alone, before the investment returns are added.

Limitations

  • The dividend element of this calculator is under review — see the note below — and the dividend figure it produces should not be relied on until that review concludes.
  • The calculator places you in a single band rather than splitting a gain that straddles the basic and higher rate thresholds.
  • Accumulation funds produce notional distributions that are taxable even though no cash is received; those are not modelled.
  • Equalisation payments, excess reportable income on offshore funds and bed-and-breakfasting rules are not covered.
  • This is an estimate, not a Self Assessment computation.

Common questions

Why is an ISA usually better than a general investment account?
Inside an ISA, dividends, gains and interest are not taxable at all and never need reporting. The 'allowances used' figure here is a reasonable proxy for what an ISA would have saved you the trouble of tracking, on top of any tax actually paid.
Do I pay Capital Gains Tax on gains I have not sold?
No. Capital Gains Tax applies to realised gains — you have to dispose of the asset. Unrealised growth in a general investment account is not taxable, which is why the calculator asks for gains realised in the year.
Does the Personal Savings Allowance apply to bond fund distributions?
Interest distributions from bond funds are taxed as interest, so the Personal Savings Allowance applies. Dividend distributions from equity funds are taxed as dividends and use the dividend allowance instead. Which one applies depends on the fund's holdings, not its name.
Do I need to file a tax return?
It depends on the amounts and on your wider circumstances, and the thresholds change. Check the current requirements on GOV.UK rather than inferring them from a calculator result.

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Official sources

Every figure in this guide was checked against the sources below. Where a source could not confirm a figure, it is marked as requiring verification rather than presented as settled.