Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) is the UK's largest investment platform by assets under administration, serving millions of private investors. If you hold shares, funds, or ETFs in an HL Fund and Share Account (their general investment account), any profits from selling those investments may be subject to UK capital gains tax. FiscalFox reads your HL transaction CSV files and applies HMRC's share matching rules automatically to produce accurate, HMRC-ready tax reports.
Does HL tax certificate include CGT?
Short answer: usually no. The HL tax certificate is mainly for investment income such as dividends and interest. For capital gains tax you normally need the Capital Account transaction history, then the same-day rule, 30-day rule, and Section 104 pool applied before you use figures on SA108.
- Use the Capital Account CSV for buys, sells, fees, and disposal proceeds.
- Keep the tax certificate for income-tax records and cross-checking.
- Use SA108 only after the CGT computation has been worked out from transactions.
Official context: GOV.UK publishes the SA108 capital gains summary and HMRC's HS284 shares and CGT helpsheet.
Why your HL tax certificate does not solve CGT
The Hargreaves Lansdown tax certificate is mainly an income document. It helps with dividends, interest, and other income entries for Self Assessment, but it is not the same as a full capital gains computation for listed shares, funds, and ETFs.
For CGT you need the disposal proceeds, allowable acquisition costs, dealing costs, and the UK share matching rules applied in the right order. That means the same-day rule, the 30-day rule, and the Section 104 pool before you copy figures into the SA108 capital gains pages.
Quick FAQ for HL investors
Does HL tax certificate include CGT?
Usually no. Treat it as an income-tax document, not as the complete CGT computation for your Fund and Share Account.
What do I need instead?
Download the Capital Account CSV so each taxable disposal can be matched to the correct acquisition cost. If you want income context in the FiscalFox report, download the Income CSV as well.
When does SA108 come in?
SA108 is the capital gains summary that sits behind Self Assessment. Enter SA108 figures after your HL transactions have been matched and summarised, not by copying a portfolio gain or income certificate.
How to download your Hargreaves Lansdown transaction history
Hargreaves Lansdown provides transaction data through two separate downloads: the Capital Account file for buy and sell transactions, and the Income file for dividends. You will need both files for a complete picture.
Two separate downloads required
Unlike most brokers, HL requires you to download the Capital Account and Income data separately. For a complete CGT report, make sure you export both CSV files and upload them together.
Capital Account download (buys and sells)
- Log in to your Hargreaves Lansdown account at hl.co.uk.
- Navigate to My Accounts and select your Fund and Share Account.
- Click on Capital Account in the account menu.
- Set the date range to cover the tax year you are calculating. For a complete history, select the earliest available date through to 5 April of the relevant year.
- Click Download CSV to export the capital account transactions.
- Save the .csv file to your computer.
Income download (dividends)
- Return to your Fund and Share Account overview.
- Click on Income (sometimes listed under the account sub-menu or as "Loyalty Bonus / Income").
- Set the same date range as above.
- Click Download CSV to export your dividend and income data.
- Save the .csv file to your computer.
Once you have both files, go to your FiscalFox dashboard, select Hargreaves Lansdown as your broker, and upload both CSV files to begin your calculation.
File format details
Hargreaves Lansdown exports transaction data as CSV (comma-separated values) files. The Capital Account CSV typically contains:
- Trade Date -- the date the deal was executed
- Settlement Date -- the date the transaction settled
- Reference -- HL's internal deal reference number
- Transaction Type -- described as "Deal" for buy/sell transactions
- Description -- details of the stock or fund, including buy/sell direction
- Units/Shares -- the quantity traded
- Price -- the execution price per unit
- Value -- the total transaction amount in GBP
- Charges -- dealing fees and stamp duty where applicable
The Income CSV contains dividend payments, loyalty bonus credits, and interest. FiscalFox uses this to provide a complete picture of your investment activity, though dividends are reported separately under income tax rather than CGT.
How FiscalFox processes your HL data
When you upload your Hargreaves Lansdown files, FiscalFox applies the full set of HMRC share matching rules in the legally required order:
- Same-day rule -- shares sold on the same day as a purchase of the same security are matched first. The actual cost from that same-day acquisition is used to calculate the gain.
- 30-day bed and breakfast rule -- if you sell a holding and repurchase the same security within the following 30 days, the disposal is matched against that repurchase. This prevents the artificial crystallisation of losses.
- Section 104 pool -- any remaining shares sold are matched against the pooled average cost basis, which FiscalFox calculates and maintains from your full transaction history.
FiscalFox combines data from both the Capital Account and Income CSV files into a unified timeline. The output includes a detailed disposal-by-disposal breakdown, the matching rule applied to each sale, and a summary of total gains, losses, and the resulting CGT liability for the tax year.
Common issues with Hargreaves Lansdown files
Two separate downloads required
Unlike some brokers that provide a single file, HL requires you to download the Capital Account and Income data separately. If you only upload the Capital Account file, FiscalFox will still calculate your capital gains correctly, but dividend information will be missing from your summary. For a complete report, upload both files.
HL uses "Deal" terminology
Hargreaves Lansdown labels buy and sell transactions as "Deals" rather than using the more common "Buy" or "Sell" labels. The direction (buy or sell) is typically embedded in the description field. FiscalFox parses this automatically and correctly identifies the transaction direction, so no manual editing of the CSV is required.
Multiple account types
If you hold investments in both an ISA and a Fund and Share Account with HL, make sure you download data only from the Fund and Share Account. ISA transactions are not subject to CGT. HL keeps these accounts separate in its interface, so selecting the correct account before downloading should prevent any mix-up.
Accumulation funds and ERI
Some funds and ETFs can also create income-tax reporting work, especially offshore reporting funds with excess reportable income. ERI is separate from the CGT disposal calculation, but amounts already taxed as income may affect your CGT base cost. See the ERI guide if your HL holdings include accumulation ETFs or offshore reporting funds outside an ISA or SIPP.
Supported transaction types
FiscalFox extracts and processes the following transaction types from your Hargreaves Lansdown files:
| Transaction Type | How FiscalFox Uses It |
|---|---|
| Buy (Deal) | Added to the Section 104 pool for the relevant security |
| Sell (Deal) | Matched against acquisitions using HMRC rules to calculate gain or loss |
| Dividend | Recorded for reference (taxed under income tax, not CGT) |
| Loyalty Bonus | Recorded for reference as additional income |
| Charges/Fees | Included as allowable costs that reduce your taxable gain on disposals |
Hargreaves Lansdown is one of the most commonly used brokers by FiscalFox users. If you encounter any unusual transaction types or formatting issues in your HL files, please contact our support team and we will help resolve the issue.