Demand for financial planning and advice services among high net worth (HNW) and ultra HNW clients is growing, despite capital gains tax (CGT) receipts being lower than the Autumn Budget forecasts, according to Utmost Wealth Solutions.

The insurance-based wealth solutions provider noted that CGT receipts for the 2024/25 tax year were £13.1bn, which was £2.6bn below the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast.

Furthermore, the OBR’s estimates at the Spring Statement showed that the CGT take for 2025/26 to 2029/30 was £20.6bn lower than the forecast made at the Autumn Budget.

Despite this, CGT was still expected to raise £25.5bn in 2029/30, almost double the current level, as the wealth transfer accelerates and the tax reforms announced in the Autumn Budget begin to impact receipts.

In the Autumn Budget, the government increased the main CGT rates from 10 per cent and 20 per cent to 18 per cent and 24 per cent respectively, alongside phased rises for Business Asset Disposal Relief and Investors’ Relief to 14 per cent in April 2025 and 18 per cent in April 2026, and a hike in carried interest tax to 32 per cent from April 2025.

Utmost stated that the true impact of these tax increases and changes to the non-dom regime was still too early to call amid shifting global patterns in wealth flows.

“Given the significant reforms to the CGT regime, the most recent data will be a disappointment for the Treasury’s revenue-raising ambitions,” commented Utmost Wealth Solutions head of technical services, Simon Martin.

“The CGT take for 2024/25 fell short of predictions at the Autumn Budget while the Spring Statement significantly downgraded its estimates by over £20bn for the remainder of the decade.

“Meanwhile, there are continued reports of wealth flows out of the United Kingdom as well high-profile exits from wealthy individuals.

“The latest updates from the OBR at the 2025 Spring Statement put CGT receipts on a similar trajectory to the 2024 Spring Budget so there are serious questions around whether Chancellor Reeves’ Autumn Budget reforms will achieve their stated aims.

“Nonetheless, we are still seeing significant and growing demand from clients for financial planning and advice services. CGT receipts are still predicted to nearly double by the end of the decade and HNWs will be keen to understand whether and how the new regime will impact them.”

---