Business exit calculator: compare a sale, MBO or EOT

It estimates the capital gains tax on selling your shares and shows what you would keep under different exit routes: a sale to a third party, a management buy-out or a sale to an Employee Ownership Trust. It helps you compare routes on a like-for-like basis before taking advice.

It uses capital gains tax at 18% within the basic rate band and 24% above, a £3,000 annual exempt amount, and Business Asset Disposal Relief at 18% from 6 April 2026 on up to £1m of lifetime qualifying gains. It also applies the current Employee Ownership Trust rules.

It is a relief that reduces the rate of capital gains tax on qualifying business disposals. For 2026/27 it is charged at 18% on up to £1m of lifetime gains. The calculator asks questions to check the main conditions, including at least 5% of shares and votes and a trading company for two years.

For disposals to employee ownership trust trustees on or after 26 November 2025, 50% of the gain is chargeable on the seller at normal capital gains tax rates at the time of sale. The other 50% is relieved and held over. Business Asset Disposal Relief is not available on that sale.

A trade sale usually means an outside buyer paying cash, shares or both. A management buy-out means the management team buys the company, often funded by debt and deferred consideration. The tax rates are similar, but the timing, structure and funding differ, so the calculator shows net proceeds and when they arrive.

It allows you to enter the proportion of the price that is deferred, but it uses a simplified treatment of timing. Earn-outs, loan notes and shares as consideration can change when tax is due and how much, so use the result as a guide and take advice on the structure.

No. The calculator focuses on the tax on the shareholder's gain. If a reorganisation, a dividend before sale or a demerger is part of your plan, there can be company and shareholder tax effects that the calculator does not model. These are often where the largest savings or risks lie.

It asks screening questions and tells you where a relief is likely to be available or at risk. It cannot decide qualification, which depends on detailed conditions such as the trading status of the company over the whole period and the nature of its assets.

No. Reasonable estimates of the sale price, your shareholding and your original cost are enough for a first view. If you are close to a threshold, such as £1m of lifetime gains or the basic rate band, more precise figures matter.

The calculator works from your own position as a shareholder. Each shareholder is taxed on their own gain, and different shareholders can have different base costs, reliefs and rates. If you want to understand the position for several owners, run the tool for each of them.

It assumes a UK-resident individual selling shares in a UK company. Non-residents are taxed differently and may have reporting obligations or exemptions depending on the assets. If you are not UK resident or are planning to leave before a sale, speak to us first.

No. It is an estimate, not a computation. A tax return needs your precise figures, reliefs and elections, and a sale needs claims to be made in time. Business Asset Disposal Relief claims, for example, have a deadline of the first anniversary of 31 January after the tax year of sale.

We use your inputs to produce the result. If you give your email address, we show you the full breakdown on screen and may contact you under our privacy policy. We do not sell data, and you can ask us to delete it. The policy explains which services handle your information.

Real sales involve negotiated price adjustments, warranties and indemnities, deferred consideration, fees, reorganisations and tax clearances. Rates and reliefs can also change before you sell. The calculator shows the headline tax position on stated assumptions, not the whole deal.

If the figures matter, talk to us before you sign anything. The structure you use before the sale usually has far more effect on the tax than anything done after it. A free first call is the best way to see whether planning could improve the result.