Shares that have become worthless: negligible value claims

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When a negligible value claim helps

Normally you only get a capital loss when you dispose of something. Shares in a company that has collapsed are a problem: often nobody will buy them, so there is no sale to create the loss. Section 24 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 solves that. If an asset you own has become of negligible value while you owned it, you can claim to be treated as if you had sold it and immediately bought it back for the value you specify in the claim.

"Negligible" isn’t defined in the law. HMRC’s view, in its manual, is that it means worth next to nothing. GOV.UK adds that the asset can’t already have been of negligible value when you acquired it.

Deemed sale value stated in the claim	£0
Less: what you paid for the shares	minus (£5,000)
Capital loss created by the claim	minus (£5,000)

Conditions

• You must still own the asset. HMRC’s manual says the asset must still exist when the claim is made. If a company has already been dissolved, you can’t make a negligible value claim — instead you are automatically treated as having disposed of the shares when the company was dissolved (HMRC helpsheet HS286).
• It became worthless while you owned it — you can’t buy already-worthless shares to create a loss.
• Evidence. For shares in a company in liquidation or receivership, GOV.UK lists the kind of evidence HMRC wants: a statement of affairs, a letter from the liquidator or receiver about whether shareholders will get anything back, and evidence that no rescue is likely.

HMRC’s list of negligible value shares

HMRC publishes a list of shares and securities formerly quoted on the London Stock Exchange that it has accepted as being of negligible value, with the dates. GOV.UK says you still have to submit your own claim even if your shares are on the list — and there is no list for unquoted companies, companies quoted on AIM or the PLUS market, or non-UK companies. The list is on the negligible value claims and agreements page.

Timing: when the loss arises

By default the deemed sale happens on the date HMRC receives the claim (CG13130), so the loss falls in that tax year. But you can name an earlier date, as long as you owned the asset and it was already of negligible value then, and the date is no more than 2 years before the start of the tax year in which you make the claim.

HMRC’s helpsheet HS286 gives an example: a claim made with a tax return sent on 31 January 2027 could specify an earlier time from 6 April 2024. If you want the loss to appear in a particular year’s return, the date you choose must fall within that tax year.

There’s no time limit on making a negligible value claim as such — HMRC’s manual says so — but delay narrows the years you can choose.

Two claims, one envelope

HMRC is explicit that a negligible value claim only creates the disposal. To turn the resulting loss into an allowable loss you must also notify the loss — a separate claim, although the two can be made in the same return, letter or document. The usual 4-year limit applies to notifying the loss: see how to claim a capital loss.

How to claim

GOV.UK says you can claim either by writing to HMRC or by entering the negligible value on your Self Assessment return. On the capital gains pages, HS286 says to include the loss in the relevant "losses in the year" box (for listed or unlisted shares, other property, or residential property), put the code NVC in the claims box for that section, and give a computation. The helpsheet also explains that you can send form CG34 with the claim if you want HMRC to check a valuation — at least 3 months before your filing date.

Shares you subscribed for

If the shares were ones you subscribed for in an unlisted trading company — including shares that qualified for EIS or SEIS — the loss from a negligible value claim may qualify for share loss relief against income, which can be worth more than relief against gains.

Cryptoassets

HMRC accepts negligible value claims for tokens too, but for the whole pool rather than individual tokens — see cryptoasset losses.

Questions people ask

The company I invested in has collapsed. Can I claim a loss on the shares?

If you still own the shares and they have become worth next to nothing, you can make a negligible value claim to be treated as selling them, creating a capital loss. You also need to notify the loss. If the company has already been dissolved, you’re treated as having disposed of the shares when it was dissolved.

If you subscribed for the shares in an unlisted trading company (including EIS or SEIS shares), you may be able to set the loss against your income — see share loss relief.

Sources

Checked 4 October 2026 for the 2026/27 tax year. We read these primary sources for this guide:

1. GOV.UK: Negligible value claims and agreements (gov.uk)
2. HMRC helpsheet HS286: Negligible value claims and Income Tax losses for shares (2026) (gov.uk)
3. HMRC Capital Gains Manual CG13125: Negligible value claims (gov.uk)
4. HMRC Capital Gains Manual CG13130: Negligible value — date of claim (gov.uk)
5. Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, section 24 (legislation.gov.uk)
6. HMRC: SA108 Capital Gains Tax summary notes (2025–26 edition) (gov.uk)

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This guide adapts and summarises that information in our own words. taxloss.co.uk is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) or the UK Government. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

More on capital gains losses

• 01Capital losses: what counts as an allowable lossWhen you sell or give away an asset for less than it cost you, you may have a capital loss. It only reduces your tax once it is an "allowable loss" — which depends on the asset and on telling HMRC in time.
• 02How to claim a capital loss — and the 4-year time limitA capital loss only counts once you have told HMRC about it, with the amount. Here’s how to do that on your tax return or by letter, and the deadline you must meet.
• 03How capital losses are set against gains — and the annual exempt amountThis year’s losses are used up in full first, even if that wastes your tax-free allowance. Losses brought forward from earlier years are only used to bring your gains down to the annual exempt amount — the rest carries on.
• 04Losses on disposals to family and connected peopleSell or give something to a relative, business partner or a company you control and make a loss, and that loss is "clogged" — you can only use it against gains on other disposals to the same person. Transfers to a spouse or civil partner usually give no loss at all.
• 06Share loss relief: setting a loss on shares against incomeLosses on shares you subscribed for in a qualifying unlisted trading company — including EIS and SEIS shares — can sometimes be set against your income instead of only against gains. The claim has a shorter deadline.
• 07Cryptoasset lossesSelling, swapping or spending tokens for less than their cost gives a capital loss you can claim like any other. HMRC treats lost keys and theft differently — and worthless tokens need a negligible value claim on the whole pool.
• 08Losses when you sell property — and the 60-day UK property returnA loss on selling a second home, buy-to-let or land is a capital loss you claim in the usual way. UK residents normally only use the 60-day "Capital Gains Tax on UK property" service when tax is due — non-residents must report every disposal, even a loss.