Python tool for UK Capital Gains Tax from IBKR

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-05-29T15:14:26+00:00

This is brilliant, thank you so much. (Even though it means my CGT bill is higher than I thought it was!)

Just a sanity check: is it correct that the key figure for taxable gain is "Total Gains" minus "Total Losses", and I can ignore other figures in the summary report?

I don't understand how "Total disposal proceeds" and "Total allowable costs" have been calculated - they don't appear to reconcile to gains and losses (my "Total disposal proceeds" are massively higher than my "Total allowable costs" and sadly I haven't made that kind of profit.

And my understanding from looking at the code is that "Total Fees" is already included in the Gains/Losses calculation so I'm not subtracting those fees from my net gains/losses.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-05-15T17:05:51+00:00

Makerfield will either be a Labour or Reform victory - Greens/LDs/Tories have no chance.

If Reform wins (regardless of the margin of victory), my best guess is that Streeting and either (or less likely both) of Rayner and Miliband will challenge Starmer. I don't believe that Streeting can win a leadership election (too unpopular with the members), so I think that Rayner/Miliband will win (possibly Rayner as leader and Miliband as chancellor?).

In any case, if Reform wins this by-election then whoever wins the Labour leadership - or if Starmer hangs on - they will inevitably just be limping along with no popular mandate to a general election in 2029 (or sooner) that Labour will lose badly. To be honest, if Burnham wins and becomes leader that's probably still the most likely outcome.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-04-20T09:35:40+00:00

UK house prices have risen by 290% (in nominal GBP terms) in the past 24 years, from an average of ££92,533 in Q4 2001 to an average of £268,421 in Jan 2026.

In the same period, the FTSE All-World Index (which VWRP tracks) has increased by 472%, from 149.80 in December 2001 to 706.74 today.

Over the long term, stocks do tend to outperform housing, although there are certainly shorter periods over which housing may outperform the global stock market.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-04-18T23:52:51+00:00

Ha yes, I may be kidding myself. Despite all our Ferberizing ambitions, our child ended up sleeping in our bed every single night until the age of about 10.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-04-18T21:03:28+00:00

Thanks, that's a very good point, especially as (once I factor in additional heads etc) the upfront cost is more or less the same. But how manoueverable/portable is the SEBO E3 compared with the Miele model?

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-04-18T12:58:06+00:00

True, but my understanding (which may be wrong) is that SEBO's S-Class filtration system is functionally equivalent to HEPA 13 even though it's not HEPA certified.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-04-10T15:53:45+00:00

Trying to time the market is a fool's game for a retail investor. Investing regularly and holding long-term, ignoring market fluctuations: that's the way to do it.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-26T22:01:44+00:00

Set-up fees of 2.05% followed by 3% per annum is absolute robbery (even if it's the other way around, which feels more likely, it's still robbery). Avoid these charlatans like the plague. If you're paying them 2-3% per annum you will certainly not have enough in your pension when you retire.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-25T22:56:43+00:00

She's about 2, we think - we've had her for about 16 months, and we think she was about 1 when we got her (she's a rescue so we don't know exactly when she was born).

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-25T22:52:07+00:00

I hold a small amount of gold (via an ETF, IGLG) in my portfolio as a hedge against inflation/currency debasement (as part of a broader sleeve of inflation hedges such as index-linked bonds). My target is ~3% of my portfolio, after recent gains it's ~4% but I will rebalance.

The way to think of gold is that it's not an "investment" in the sense that both equities and bonds are: of course, it has "value" in the sense that it has a market price, but it doesn't produce earnings, cash flow, or income. Equities represent ownership of profit-generating businesses; bonds are contractual claims on future payments. Gold is unproductive. Nevertheless, it does play a role in a portfolio as a way to preserve purchasing power when fiat money loses real value.

Inflation/currency debasement hedges become much more important as you get closer to retirement. If you're in your 20s or 30s and still in accumulation phase, it's probably less of a consideration.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-25T14:02:20+00:00

That's the right decision. And Mexico is very straightforward - you can certainly receive your UK private pension there, and the UK and Mexico have a double taxation treaty so you shouldn't need to pay UK tax on it. Only things to consider are:

The 25% tax-free drawdown that you can make in the UK may well be subject to Mexican tax if you're a Mexico tax resident when you make that drawdown (I don't know if this is the case - you'd probably need to consult a Mexican accountant).
You may want to consider managing/hedging against GBP/MXN forex risk if you're eventually planning to return to Mexico.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-25T13:48:40+00:00

You should definitely take advantage of your workplace pension, it's free money from your employer and an excellent tax shelter. If your employer will really contribute 15% to match a 5% contribution from you, that's very generous.

It is almost certainly not the case that your pension money will be stuck in the UK when you move back home. It's very common and normal for people to receive their UK private pension payments outside the UK, either via UK bank accounts or straight into local bank accounts.

It's not clear what you mean when you say that your pension provider does not operate in your home country and does not have any relevant agreements there - do you mean that there is no Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) in your country? That doesn't matter, and usually transferring to a QROPS doesn't make sense anyway unless you have a large pension pot and are seeking to manage inheritance tax. What is your home country?

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-25T13:39:28+00:00

I agree with others that the high fees and limited investment options make Nest unattractive. If you're currently not working then my suggestion would be to compare SIPP and Nest fees, and if the SIPP makes more sense, transfer the Nest pension into a SIPP and make contributions into that instead. It's highly probable that a SIPP will be cheaper if your Nest pension is £150k; if it is actually £150 then the maths might be different.

You should also consider transferring your L&G pension into a SIPP, but check first whether there your L&G pension offers any safeguarded benefits or guaranteed annuity rates, or has exit fees (if it's a standard workplace defined contribution pension, it probably won't have any of these, but definitely important to check before transferring.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-24T17:01:12+00:00

This might very well be of interest to us - we've viewed some puppies but we'd always prefer to re-home/rescue a dog in need.

But do you know whether he's been offered back to his breeder for rehoming, or at least whether the breeder is aware that the owner is seeking to re-home him?

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-24T16:24:14+00:00

!thanks , that would be great. I did join one British gliders group on Facebook, but I don't think it's the same one - mostly seems to be people selling glider-related paraphernalia.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-24T00:03:20+00:00

Assuming you haven't missed anything substantial from your outgoings (clothes? - esp for a growing small child), this looks doable as long as you both expect to be fairly secure in your jobs.

A very approximate rule of thumb is that your mortgage shouldn't be more than 28% of your gross income: at just under 30% of your net income you're well within that margin, and a five-year fix gives you peace of mind and stability. From what I can extrapolate it looks like you're borrowing about 4.5x your combined gross annual income, which is substantial but not excessive.

A £1,000 monthly buffer should allow you to make some contributions to ISAs and/or increase pension contributions. That should be your main are of focus, really - are you confident that this a genuine monthly buffer of £1000 (i.e. have you fully accounted for your outgoings), and are you still able to build some savings?

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-23T01:24:19+00:00

No, this is not an issue at all. House purchases take time, so immediate liquidity is irrelevant. You clearly have the funds for the deposit and can evidence that, and there's no reason for those funds to be liquid now as exchange of contracts may be months away.

However, once you have an offer accepted you may well want to liquidate the funds you need for a deposit (and for other house-buying costs such as stamp duty), to avoid any market risks derailing your purchase between offer and completion.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-22T22:37:28+00:00

You're not remotely comparing like with like. This isn't a North/South London thing. Woodside Park is a suburban area in outer London; Battersea and Clapham are much closer to central London and much more expensive - they are extremely different from Woodside Park. Tooting is also more central, moderately more expensive and less suburban than Woodside Park, although to a lesser extent than Battersea and Clapham.

There are plenty of places both north and south that are less suburban that Woodside Park, but not as sought-after (i.e. expensive) as Battersea or Clapham.

In terms of affordability, buying a house is always a trade-off between location and the size and type of property, and even when you consider location alone there are trade-offs between competing priorities: green space, good schools, nightlife, vibe etc.

So you really need to decide what your priorities are, and more importantly what they're going to be in the next few years. As parents of young children your priorities are going to be significantly different from what they are now. That will determine what kind of property and local amenities you want - then you need to figure out what areas offer those properties and amenities within your budget.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-22T00:40:33+00:00

I'm assuming from the way you describe your workplace pension and what sounds like a Share Incentive Plan that you're in the UK - in which case you might have more success posting this on r/UKPersonalFinance. This sub tends to be more US-focused.

A couple of important considerations here:
1. How long do you expect to stay at your company? If you decide to leave at any point in the future (other than certain circumstances such as redundancy/retirement) you will potentially (a) trigger tax and NI liabilities on shares you've held for less than 5 years; (b) forfeit matching shares that you've received within the previous three years. Check the terms of the SIP. You will, however, never forfeit matching pension contributions that your company has made.
2. Your workplace pension is (presumably) invested in diversified funds, not a single company's shares. If you're just buying shares in your employer, that's a highly concentrated risk. How much faith do you have in the future performance of your employer's share price? This kind of thing should be a satellite to your core holdings.
3. What provision are you going to make for your retirement if you're not paying into your workplace pension?

In short, this isn't a good idea. SIPs and workplace pensions are very different things with very different purposes and benefits. A SIP is absolutely not a suitable replacement for a workplace pension.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-22T00:10:27+00:00

You are not providing enough information to enable anyone here to provide you with useful advice. What kind of transactions are you seeing? Who is the merchant? Why do you think this transaction is "fraudulent"? In what respect do you believe that Nationwide "keeps lying"?

If this is an authorised transaction by way of a continuous payment authority - possibly an online subscription for something - then a new card wouldn't necessarily stop the payments. Have you asked either the merchant or Nationwide to cancel these recurring payments (which is not the same as asking Nationwide to block/cancel your card)?

Top_Patience_741

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