Investments
Top-Slicing Relief Calculator
Chargeable-event gains on bonds with top-slicing relief to ease the higher-rate hit.
Tax year 2026/27
Tax due on the gain (after relief)
£3,568
Top-sliced over 8 years
Simplified model: assumes a UK (non-Scottish) taxpayer and ignores the personal savings allowance. Confirm material cases against a full HMRC calculation.
How it works
A chargeable event gain on an investment bond is added to income in the year it arises, which can push a basic-rate taxpayer into higher rates. Top-slicing relief eases this by spreading the gain over the number of complete years the bond was held.
The relief is broadly the difference between the tax on the full gain and the tax on a single average "slice" applied across all the years. Onshore bonds carry a 20% basic-rate credit treated as paid within the fund; offshore bonds do not. This is a simplified model for a UK (non-Scottish) taxpayer and ignores the personal savings allowance — always confirm material cases against a full HMRC calculation.