Disposing of an asset is currently defined as the following for the purposes of Capital Gains Tax:
Selling the asset
Giving the asset away as a gift, or transferring it to someone else
Swapping the asset for something else
Receiving compensation for the asset, for example the insurance pay out if a property was lost or destroyed
You might wonder what would happen if you sold your asset for a value less than the market value to a family member, to avoid paying CGT. This is not advisable. HMRC will view this as a gift of the asset to a “connected person” – which includes children, parents, siblings, nephews, uncles etc.
To avoid this, the asset needs to be sold at the market value. An asset sold to a connected person at a value less than market value will result in HMRC asking you for CGT as if the property was being paid for at market value. Not only will you have to pay the tax on the full gain, you could also be fined.