How to sell shares

Find out what you need to know about how to sell shares in the UK and what to watch for before selling your stock.

How to sell shares Step-by-step-instructions
Share dealing platforms Compare now

Knowing how to sell shares is an important step in the investing process. There may be cases where you hold onto stocks until you retire, or generously pass them down for someone to inherit. But if you’re trading stocks and shares over a lifetime, chances are you’ll plan on selling shares at some stage.

Before you get trigger-happy and start smashing that sell button, there are a few things to consider. Ideally, make sure you’ve got a decent grasp of the costs, what it means for your taxes, and importantly – whether you should be selling your shares in the first place.

Key takeaways

  • It’s smart to make a plan before you sell shares to check how it’ll affect your portfolio.
  • Selling your shares can affect your tax position.
  • Compare fees for selling shares between platforms in our comparison table.

How to sell shares

  1. Make sure you definitely want to sell. A long-term “buy and hold” strategy can often lead to the most fruitful rewards. Consider the adage that “time in the market” often has a greater success rate than “timing the market”.
  2. Make a plan. It’s best to make a plan before going ahead with the sale. Once you’ve thought about how selling your shares will impact the rest of your portfolio, the rest of the process is very straightforward.
  3. View your portfolio online and find the shares you want to sell. Most UK brokerages will allow you to sell shares online, on their website or using an app. This means you can carry out a sale right at your fingertips while sitting in your living room. If you’d rather make a sale over the phone, bear in mind that some investing platforms charge quite hefty fees for this service.
  4. Review the sale. You’ll be able to see how much you’ll receive for your shares before you hit sell. When you’re ready, you can sell.

Our top picks for selling and purchasing shares

Best for 0% commission stocks
eToro Free Stocks logo
Finder Award
Go to site
Capital at risk. Fees apply.
Copy picks from top traders
4.3 ★★★★★
Commission-free trades
Fractional shares
Get dividend payments
Best for uninvested cash
XTB logo
Go to site
Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.
Earn 5% on uninvested funds
4.4 ★★★★★
Commission-free trades
Fractional shares
5,400+ stocks/ETFs
Best for customer satisfaction
Hargreaves Lansdown Fund and Share Account logo
Finder Award
Go to site
Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.
97% would recommend
4.2 ★★★★★
Free fund trading
Expert insights
Wide range of accounts

What do I need to know about selling my shares?

Make sure you have a clear understanding of why you want to sell your shares. Next, assess what it will cost and how this sale fits into your wider investing goals. Another key area to think about is whether the sale of your shares will affect your tax position.

Why might I consider selling my shares?

You might be thinking about selling your shares for several reasons. Here are some examples of common situations explaining why investors sell stocks:

  • The shares have consistently performed poorly, so you want to cut your losses.
  • You find out new information about the company that changes your outlook for the shares.
  • It’s a stock that no longer fits with your overall investing strategy.
  • Selling shares allows you to consolidate your holdings and simplify your portfolio.
  • Price appreciation means that you want to lock in some profit.
  • To access cash, you sell shares to liquidate some of your holdings into pounds.

Every stock market investment should be approached with a long-term perspective. Market movements are inherently unpredictable. Committing to ‘time in the market’ involves adopting a strategy where you refrain from attempting to predict the market’s peaks or troughs (timing the market) Instead, you invest in the market with the understanding that your timing might not be perfect, but ultimately, the underlying fundamentals outweigh the importance of perfect timing.”

Steve Tutton (DipPFS), financial adviser

Does it matter which platform I use to sell my shares?

It can definitely make a difference. Each investing platform will structure its fees in a variety of ways.

With some platforms, a commission fee will be charged when you buy or sell an investment. This makes selling your shares more expensive with certain brokerages.

What often matters is where you’re buying the shares in the first place, because that will likely be the place you’ll eventually sell them – although it is possible to transfer your shares over to a new provider.

It’s worthwhile to do plenty of research to make sure you’re set up with an affordable brokerage account before you start investing.

Compare platforms that let you buy and sell shares

Table: sorted by promoted deals first
Name Product UKFST Finder Score Min. initial deposit Price per trade Frequent trader rate Platform fees Offer Link
XTB
4.4
★★★★★
£0
£0
£0
£0
Earn up to 5% interest on uninvested cash.
Go to site

Capital at risk

Platform details
OFFER
Freetrade
4.4
★★★★★
£0
£0
N/A
£0
Get a free share worth up to £100 when you sign up and deposit at least £50. T&Cs apply. Capital at risk.
Go to site

Capital at risk

Platform details
InvestEngine
4.4
★★★★★
£100
£0
N/A
0% - 0.25%
Get a Welcome Bonus of up to £50 when you invest at least £100 with InvestEngine. T&Cs apply.
Go to site

Capital at risk

Platform details
Saxo Share Dealing Account
4.3
★★★★★
£0
£3
N/A
0.12% per year
Get up to £200 back in online trading fees during your first 3 months. T&Cs apply.
Go to site

Capital at risk

Platform details
Finder Award
FREE TRADES
eToro Free Stocks
4.3
★★★★★
$100
£0 on stocks
N/A
£0
Go to site

Capital at risk. Fees apply.

Platform details
Wealthify
4.2
★★★★★
£1
£0
N/A
0.6%
Go to site

Capital at risk

Platform details
Hargreaves Lansdown Fund and Share Account
4.2
★★★★★
£1
£11.95
£5.95
£0
Go to site

Capital at risk

Platform details
Halifax share dealing account
4.1
★★★★★
£20
£9.50
£0
£36 per year
Go to site

Capital at risk

Platform details
interactive investor Trading Account
4.1
★★★★★
£0
£3.99 (free regular investing)
£0
From £4.99 a month
Get £50 worth of free trades if you open an ii Trading Account before 31 October. T&Cs apply. New customers only. Capital at risk.
Go to site

Capital at risk

Platform details
Moneyfarm
3.9
★★★★★
£1 (£500 for managed portfolios)
£3.95
N/A
0.25% - 0.75%
Go to site

Capital at risk

Platform details
Charles Stanley share dealing account
Charles Stanley share dealing account
3.6
★★★★★
£0
£11.50
N/A
0.35%
Get up to £1,500 cashback when you transfer your cash and/or investments to Charles Stanley Direct. T&Cs apply. Capital at risk.
Go to site

Capital at risk

Platform details
loading

How do I sell shares without a broker?

For most retail investors (which is the likes of you and me), this isn’t possible. You’ll need to use some sort of brokerage service or share trading platform to carry out your sale. An exception would be if you owned private equity shares and sold them directly to another investor. With this, the private company often has to approve the sale.

How much does it cost to sell shares?

This depends on the investment platform you’re using.

A handful of platforms won’t charge you anything to sell shares. Most brokerages will charge some sort of commission when you make a trade. This could be a flat fee, no matter how many shares you sell. Or, it might be a percentage of the value of the trade.

This is why it’s important to think about things carefully first. If you want to go ahead with a sale and your broker charges a commission, it could be worth making your sale in one go to keep costs down, whereas if there are low or no commissions, you might decide to sell your shares in chunks at different times.

Am I taxed on the shares that I sell?

Possibly. The answer to this depends on the type of investment account you’re using to hold your shares and whether the price has gone up or down.

If you’re using a general investment account (GIA), you may have to pay tax on the sale. Each tax year, you get certain allowances to use up. Currently, in the 2024/2025 tax year, you have a capital gains tax (CGT) allowance of £3,000 and a dividend tax allowance of £500.

This means you only have to pay tax on gains made that breach these thresholds within the tax year. The tax won’t apply automatically – you’ll need to report it. You can do this with a self-assessment through HMRC.

When am I not taxed on shares that I sell?

If you’re selling because the shares have dropped in value, you won’t have to pay tax because you haven’t made a capital gain.

If your shares are in an individual savings account (ISA), then you won’t be taxed on any profits you make, so long as you remain within your annual allowance, which is £20,000 at the moment.

Additionally, when you want to withdraw funds after selling your shares, you won’t be subject to income tax if the money is coming from your stocks and shares ISA. So it’s well worth making the most of your ISA allowance if you can for ultimate tax efficiency whether you sell shares tomorrow or years down the line.

Similarly, if you have a SIPP (self-invested personal pension), you’re also able to sell shares held within the account without paying tax on gains. But, when you start withdrawing money from a SIPP, it may be subject to income tax.

Other scenarios where no tax is due when you sell your shares include:

  • Giving your shares as a gift to a husband, wife, civil partner or a charity
  • Shares in employer share incentive plans (SIPs), providing they stay in the scheme and aren’t transferred to another broker before the sale
  • If you report a loss in a previous tax year, you can offset this against a capital gain in the current year

When should I sell my shares?

This depends entirely on the investments you own and what your goals are.

If you bought the shares as a long-term investment, you may only want to sell them once you’re ready to start using the funds in your portfolio.

There are other instances when you might want to sell shares earlier. This could be due to a shift in your personal circumstances or if something about the underlying stock changes.

The bottom line is that there is no single perfect time to sell your shares – it will depend on what makes the most sense for you.

George Sweeney, DipFA's headshot
Our expert says: What should you think about before selling shares?

"The most important thing to think about is why you want to sell your shares in the first place. Whenever you plan to make a trade, whether to buy or sell, it’s crucial to have a clear plan and an understanding of why you’re taking a particular action. For most long-term investors, you’ll do a lot more buying than selling when it comes to stocks.

There’s no perfect reason to sell your shares, but make sure you’re not making a knee-jerk reaction due to the volatility that comes along with stock market investments. So take some time to think about why you want to sell your shares and if it’s the best long-term move for your portfolio."

Deputy editor

Bottom line

There’s no perfect time to sell your shares. It’s all about how it fits in with the rest of your portfolio and investing goals. Setting yourself up with a cheap brokerage account can reduce costs and ensure you don’t pay more than you need to when the time comes to exit your position.

Before selling stocks or shares, ask yourself if you’re acting in line with your long-term financial goals. It’s best to avoid panic-selling. Equally, it is not a good idea to hold onto a floundering stock simply because you don’t want to sell at a loss. Try to keep emotions out of the equation and focus on what matters: your expectations for the company and your personal financial goals.

Frequently asked questions

Mark Tovey's headshot
Steve Tutton DipPFS's headshot
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Mark Tovey and reviewed by Steve Tutton DipPFS, a member of Finder's Editorial Review Board.
George Sweeney, DipFA's headshot
Deputy editor

George is a deputy editor at Finder. He has previously written for The Motley Fool UK, Nasdaq, Freetrade, Investing in the Web, MoneyMagpie, Online Mortgage Advisor, Wealth, and Compare Forex Brokers. He's focused on making personal finance and investing engaging for everyone. To do this he draws from previous work and his Level 4 Diploma for Financial Advisers (DipFA), sharing what he’s learnt. When he’s not geeking out about money, you’ll find him playing sports and staying active. See full bio

George's expertise
George has written 174 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Investing
  • Personal finance
  • Tax
  • Pensions
  • Mortgages

More guides on Finder

  • How to buy Flutter Entertainment shares

    Thinking about buying shares in Flutter Entertainment? We explain how to do it and compare a range of providers who will give you access to global markets.

  • How to buy Dettol shares | 4669p

    Sales of Reckitt Bencksier products like Dettol have risen due to coronavirus. Here’s how you can invest in Dettol, by buying Reckitt Benckiser shares.

  • How to buy AT&T shares

    Ever wondered how to buy shares in AT&T? We explain how and compare a range of providers that can give you access to many brands, including AT&T.

  • How to buy Wincanton shares

    Ever wondered how to buy shares in Wincanton? We explain how and compare a range of providers that can give you access to many brands, including Wincanton.

  • How to buy United Utilities Group shares

    Ever wondered how to buy shares in United Utilities? We explain how and compare a range of providers that can give you access to many brands, including United Utilities.

  • How to buy Relx shares

    Find out how to buy shares in RELX, see its share prices over the last three months and check out our must-do checklist if you’re looking to invest.

  • How to buy Reach shares

    Ever wondered how to buy shares in Reach? We explain how and compare a range of providers that can give you access to many brands, including Reach.

  • How to buy WPP shares

    Ever wondered how to buy shares in WPP Group? We explain how and compare a range of providers that can give you access to many brands, including WPP Group.

  • How to buy Merlin Entertainments shares

    Find out how to buy shares in Merlin Entertainments, see Merlin Entertainments’ share prices over the last three months and check out our must-do checklist if you’re looking to invest.

  • How to buy Howden Joinery Group shares

    We explain how to buy shares in Howden Joinery, explaining the costs and fees you could come up against. We also have a checklist for anyone looking to invest in a company.

4 Responses

    Default Gravatar
    SimonJune 7, 2023

    I have a paper certificate for C&C Group shares held privately which I want to sell, how do I find out who the private share registrar is as Link Asset Services have advised me it’s not them please?

      AvatarFinder
      LizJune 7, 2023Finder

      Hi Simon. This isn’t a subject we’ve covered in depth, but the company that issued the shares may be able to help you.

    Default Gravatar
    FrancisMarch 30, 2023

    Hi, I am British and now live in the Philippines. I wish to sell my SHELL plc shares (about 750). I was given them by Shell as payment of dividend. I have tried to find some brokers who can sell them for me but am getting nowhere. HELP please. Francis

Go to site