Carry CGT loss on ESPP quicksale?

[Coldwarrior]

I participate in an ESPP scheme at work, contributing 20% of my income that's used to buy company stock at a 15% discount every 6 months. I always do a quicksale where the stock is sold as soon as possible after its purchased (and pay my marginal rate on the 15% discount), but even doing this there can be a delay of a few hours or a day between the purchase and sale, so as has happened the last few times the stock price has dropped a bit in-between resulting in a loss of a few hundred quid each time.

I had assumed I could carry this loss on my tax return and use it to offset CGT gains I'm expecting next year, but just spotted the 4 week rule which implies I can't. Does anyone know what the correct position is here?

 

[Iri2903]

Four weeks rule apply in this scenario.
You can only deduct the loss from a gain made on a future disposal of same shares acquired within 4 weeks.

 

[Coldwarrior]

Thanks for clarifying that, seems a pretty unfair rule.

 

[ashambles]

With ESPPs people should consider pulling out as late as the scheme allows if it seems unlikely the end price will be higher than the start price.

The post tax and charges profit may simply not be worth the risk or effort in that situation.

The majority of what you're getting back in that scenario is just your own savings, if you simply abandon the scheme you still get that money back and you don't need to trouble Revenue - or end up in the position of paying Revenue tax for a notional profit.

ESPPs vary, maybe some companies really can guarantee that 15%(pre tax and charges) - but none of the ones I've been in could since they have to buy and sell shares on the day.

However if your scheme had a share price marginally higher at the start of the 6 month period, perhaps you could claim a subsequent CGT loss, since those shares would have been bought 6 months before they were sold. But my guess is Revenue will say ESPP shares are always acquired at the end of period even if in the workings of the scheme they were acquired earlier.