The cost of selling shares varies depending on which platform you are looking to sell on. For example, if you are looking to sell shares by phone then you may want to reconsider as selling shares online is almost always a cheaper option. Below is a rough guideline to the cost of selling shares:
Cost of Selling Shares by Phone
Most share dealers will use a transaction model that changes the cost depending on the value of shares being sold. The cost usually ranges from £25.00 to £75.00 and sales in excess of £100,000.00 may lead to a small % commission being taken; commonly 0.1%. Selling shares by telephone or mobile is almost always more expensive that selling shares online.
Cost of Selling Shares Online
Selling shares online is considerably cheaper than any other method of selling shares. In fact the transactions are so much cheaper that it practically makes any other form of share dealing redundant. The cost of selling shares online is based on the value of the shares being sold. Online transactions often start from £5.00 and are capped at £10.00 – £15.00 even on sales above £100,000.00. This is considerably less than selling shares by phone which ranges from £25.00 to anything above and beyond £1,000.00.
Capital Gains Tax on Selling Shares
Currently you do not have to pay capital gains tax for the first £10,100 of income during the tax year 2010 – 2011. The following tax year (2011 – 2012) will see a rise in the tax-free threshold to £10,600. Once you have reached a greater income, you will have to pay 18% to 28% capital gains tax depending on how large your income is. Generally speaking, amateur and casual traders will not have to pay any tax when selling shares and so this does not apply as a cost.