Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 section 21

Assets and disposals

Section 21 defines what counts as an "asset" for capital gains tax purposes and explains what constitutes a disposal or part disposal of an asset.

• All forms of property, wherever situated, are treated as assets for capital gains tax purposes, including options, debts, incorporeal property, and foreign currency (but not sterling).
• Property created by the person disposing of it — such as goodwill, copyright, or a granted lease — is also an asset, even though it was never "acquired" in the usual sense.
• References to a disposal of an asset generally include a part disposal, for example where an interest or right in or over the asset is created or where some part of the property derived from the asset remains undisposed of.
• The breadth of the definition means that virtually anything of value — shares, land, rights, intangible property, and foreign currency — can give rise to a chargeable gain when disposed of.