Guyana capital gains tax calculator
Guyana charges a flat 20% capital gains tax on the year’s net chargeable gain, with nothing to pay where the gain stays at or below G$500,000. Shares in public companies are exempt, holdings over twenty-five years are exempt, and losses carry forward twenty-four years.
Work out the tax on a property, unlisted share or crypto disposal from your dates and costs. Enter sales by hand or import your exchange CSVs, and the calculator splits multi-parcel sales under FIFO, applies the pre-2011 basis rule, the residence rollover and the 12-month income presumption, and shows the arithmetic behind the final figure. Everything stays in your browser.
Rates current as of 2026-09-30, from the Capital Gains Tax Act as consolidated by the Guyana Revenue Authority.
Current rules
The rates behind the number
The rate, the no-tax figure and the share exemption by year of income
| Year of income | Standard rate | No-tax figure (net chargeable gain) | Public-company shares | Return due |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 (YA 2022) | 20% | G$500,000 | Exempt | 30 April 2022 |
| 2022 (YA 2023) | 20% | G$500,000 | Exempt | 30 April 2023 |
| 2023 (YA 2024) | 20% | G$500,000 | Exempt | 30 April 2024 |
| 2024 (YA 2025) | 20% | G$500,000 | Exempt | 30 April 2025 |
| 2025 (YA 2026) | 20% | G$500,000 | Exempt | 30 April 2026 |
| 2026 (YA 2027) | 20% | G$500,000 | Exempt | 30 April 2027 |
| 2027 (planning) | 20% | G$500,000 | Exempt | 30 April 2028 |
Rules and exemptions
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Standard rate, every class of taxable property | 20% of the net chargeable capital gain |
| The no-tax figure | No tax where the net chargeable gain does not exceed G$500,000; one dollar over and the whole gain charges |
| Shares or stock in public companies limited by shares | Exempt, and never deemed income either (section 8(2)) |
| Private-company and unlisted shares | 20% of the gain |
| Disposal more than 25 years after acquisition | Exempt (section 8(1), third proviso) |
| Private residence, proceeds reinvested in a home of equal or greater value | Exempt, reinvestment within the year or 60 days after it ends (section 6(2)) |
| Gain within 12 months of acquisition | Presumed chargeable income from a trade, business, profession or vocation, taxed on the income-tax scale |
| Basis of a pre-2011 acquisition | The market value at 1 January 2011 substitutes for the cost |
| Losses | Net across every class, then carry forward 24 years; a net loss of G$1,000 or less never carries |
| Personal effects (furniture, jewellery, works of art) under G$5,000 in a year | Outside the charge |
Rates as of 2026-09-30; each table links back to the authority page above. The 2027 row applies the Act as it stands; no 2027 amendment has been published.
Questions
Guyana capital gains questions
How much is capital gains tax in Guyana?
A flat 20% on the net chargeable capital gain: the year's total capital gains less its total capital losses, less any losses carried forward. Where that figure does not exceed G$500,000, no tax is charged at all; one dollar over and the whole gain pays the 20%. The rate has stood at 20% under section 12 of the Capital Gains Tax Act (Cap. 81:20) every year this calculator covers.
Are shares exempt in Guyana?
Shares or stock in public companies limited by shares are exempt outright: section 8(2) of the Capital Gains Tax Act keeps the tax off such gains and keeps them out of chargeable income under the Income Tax Act as well, so the 12-month presumption never reaches them. Every company listed on the Guyana Stock Exchange is a public company. Private-company shares and stakes pay the 20% on the gain.
What happens to losses?
The year's capital losses net its capital gains across every class of asset. A net capital loss carries forward against net capital gains for the next twenty-four years (section 10) and never offsets salary or business income. A net capital loss of G$1,000 or less is not carried forward at all.
When is the return due?
The charge falls on the gain of the year before the year of assessment: a sale in 2025 reports on the capital gains return for YA 2026, filed with the Individual Income Tax Return and a computation sheet by 30 April 2026, with the estimated tax payable by the same date.
What rate does the Capital Gains Tax Act charge?
Guyana charges capital gains tax at a flat 20%: section 12 of the Capital Gains Tax Act (Cap. 81:20, revised 15 September 2022) reads 'capital gains tax shall be charged upon the net Chargeable capital gain of any person for each year of assessment at the rate of twenty percent'. The same rate applies to every class of taxable property; the Act carries no progressive scale and no asset-by-asset rate list. GRA's operational guidance states the same 20% on the net capital gain. Sources: https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Capital-Gains-Tax-Act-revised-Sept.-15-2022.pdf and https://gra.gov.gy/capital-gains-tax-2/
How does the G$500,000 no-tax figure work?
The GYD 500,000 figure carried in annualExemption is a cliff, not a band: section 6(1) provides that where the net chargeable capital gain does not exceed five hundred thousand dollars 'no tax shall be charged, levied or collected for that year of assessment', so a gain of exactly GYD 500,000 pays nothing and one dollar more pulls the WHOLE gain into the 20% charge, not only the excess. The test sits on the net chargeable capital gain (after the year's gain/loss netting and any brought-forward loss), never on gross proceeds. Source: https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Capital-Gains-Tax-Act-revised-Sept.-15-2022.pdf
Why are public-company shares exempt?
Shares in public companies are exempt outright: section 8(2) provides that capital gains tax 'shall not be payable upon capital gains arising to any person from the change of ownership of shares or stock in public companies limited by shares', and such gains 'shall not be deemed to be part of the chargeable income of that person' under the Income Tax Act, so the 12-month presumption of the second proviso to section 8(1) cannot pull them into income tax either. A company that was private before 7 March 1994 and was later converted to a public company qualifies only for changes of ownership more than two years after the conversion. Private-company shares stay taxable at 20%. Source: https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Capital-Gains-Tax-Act-revised-Sept.-15-2022.pdf
What is the 25-year exemption?
Disposals more than 25 years after acquisition are exempt: the third proviso to section 8(1) disapplies the charge where the change of ownership, redemption or other listed event 'was effected more than twenty-five years after the date of acquisition'. The words are 'more than', so a disposal on the 25th anniversary itself is still inside the charge and the exemption starts the day after. Source: https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Capital-Gains-Tax-Act-revised-Sept.-15-2022.pdf
How are quick disposals taxed?
Gains on holdings of twelve months or less are presumed business income: the second proviso to section 8(1) deems net chargeable capital gains arising within a period of twelve months after the change of ownership, unless the contrary is established to the Commissioner-General's satisfaction, to be 'part of the chargeable income ... arising out of gains or profits from any trade, business, profession or vocation', charged under the Income Tax Act instead. GRA's guidance lists gains received within 12 months of the ownership change as chargeable income for income tax, so this calculator never charges the 20% on them and routes them to the income-tax side with an evidence flag. Sources: https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Capital-Gains-Tax-Act-revised-Sept.-15-2022.pdf and https://gra.gov.gy/capital-gains-tax-2/
How does the private-residence rollover work?
Private residence rollover: section 6(2) provides that capital gains tax is not payable on gains from the sale of property used for private residence 'where the proceeds from the sale are used for the purchase of a property for private residence of equal or greater value during the year of assessment or within sixty days of the end of the year in which the property is sold'. Source: https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Capital-Gains-Tax-Act-revised-Sept.-15-2022.pdf
For how long do capital losses carry forward?
Losses: section 10 carries a net capital loss forward and sets it off against net capital gains 'in the next twenty-four years in succession'; an amount set off in one year cannot be set off in any other year; and a net capital loss that 'does not exceed one thousand dollars' is not carried forward at all. Same-year losses net first, across every class, into the one net capital gain of section 2; capital losses never offset salary, business or other income, and no carry-back exists. Source: https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Capital-Gains-Tax-Act-revised-Sept.-15-2022.pdf
How is the gain computed, and what deductions are allowed?
Basis: section 2 defines the capital gain as the amount by which the value at the change of ownership exceeds the cost of acquisition, the value when acquired, or the market value as at 1 January 2011, whichever is later - so an asset acquired before 1 January 2011 takes its 1 January 2011 market value as the substituted basis (PwC's summary: 'if the asset was acquired before 1 January 2011, then the market value of the asset at 1 January 2011 is used as the substituted basis'). Section 9 then deducts expenditure incurred solely on the acquisition (other than the purchase price), on improvements, additions and alterations, and on the disposal transaction, unless already deducted under the Income Tax Act or the Income Tax (In Aid of Industry) Act. Capital allowances granted on the property since 1 January 2011 reduce the basis. Sources: https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Capital-Gains-Tax-Act-revised-Sept.-15-2022.pdf and https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/guyana/individual/other-taxes
Are personal effects taxed?
Small personal effects are outside the charge: the definition of 'change of ownership' in section 2 excludes the sale of household furniture, jewellery and works of art where the aggregate value of such property in any one year is less than five thousand dollars. Source: https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Capital-Gains-Tax-Act-revised-Sept.-15-2022.pdf
Which year of assessment charges my sale?
Year of assessment and filing: a year of assessment is the twelve months beginning 1 January (section 2) and the charge falls on the net chargeable capital gain of the year immediately preceding the year of assessment (section 6(1)), so a gain realised in 2025 is assessed in YA 2026. The return, with the estimated tax, is due on or before 30 April of that year (sections 14(2) and 14A; GRA guidance: submitted with the Individual Income Tax Return and a computation sheet). Sources: https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Capital-Gains-Tax-Act-revised-Sept.-15-2022.pdf and https://gra.gov.gy/capital-gains-tax-2/
How are cryptoassets treated?
Crypto: no Guyana source gives a cryptoasset-specific rule. The Act's 'property' includes 'rights of any kind, whether absolute, conditional or contingent and effects of any kind, situate or having their seat in Guyana or elsewhere' (section 2), so this calculator charges crypto disposals on that general property reading at the same 20%. Provisional: GRA has published no digital-asset guidance at capture. Source: https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Capital-Gains-Tax-Act-revised-Sept.-15-2022.pdf
How does the Property Tax Act interact with the charge?
Property Tax Act interaction: section 5 keeps the Act from applying to persons exempt from the Property Tax Act by section 6 of that Act, and GRA's legislative notice exempts individuals from property tax from YA 2026; GRA's operational capital gains guidance nevertheless continues to charge individuals the 20%, which is the reading this calculator follows. Source: https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Capital-Gains-Tax-Act-revised-Sept.-15-2022.pdf