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Gilts
Gilts are bonds issued by the UK government. They pay a fixed coupon (interest) at regular intervals and return the face value at maturity. Gilts are listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and can be tracked in Sharesight like any other listed security.
Adding a gilt to your portfolio
- From your portfolio, click Add investments.
- Search by the gilt's ticker code e.g. TG30 or search by the maturity date e.g. 22/10/2030
- Select the correct gilt from the results and click Add holding.
- Enter your purchase details — quantity (nominal value ÷ 100), price (per £100 nominal), and trade date.
If a gilt is not found in the search, you can add it as a Custom Investment set to the Fixed Interest type.
Entering the correct price and quantity
This is the most common source of error when adding gilts to Sharesight.
Sharesight prices gilts per £100 of nominal (face) value — the institutional standard used by the LSE and most professional data providers. A Gilt trading at 95.50 means £95.50 per £100 nominal.
Many retail platforms (Hargreaves Lansdown, Freetrade, etc.) display prices per £1 of nominal value instead — so the same Gilt would show as £0.9550.
If you enter a retail price (£0.9550) with a retail quantity (e.g. 1,000 units representing £1,000 nominal), your total cost will look correct (£955), but Sharesight's market price feed will show £95.50 per unit. Your return will appear to be up 9,900% — a 100x error.
How to enter correctly in Sharesight:
| Retail (per £1) | Sharesight (per £100) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £0.9550 | £95.50 |
| Quantity (for £1,000 nominal) | 1,000 | 10 |
| Total cost | £955 ✓ | £955 ✓ |
| Return calculation | ❌ Wrong (100x off) | ✓ Correct |
Rule: Divide your retail price by 100 (or multiply by 100 to convert the other way), and divide your nominal quantity by 100 to get the number of £100 units.
Example: You buy £2,000 nominal of Treasury Gilt 4.5% 2034 at £0.9804 on Hargreaves Lansdown.
- Sharesight price: £0.9804 × 100 = £98.04
- Sharesight quantity: 2,000 ÷ 100 = 20
- Total: 20 × £98.04 = £1,960.80 ✓
Coupon payments
Gilts pay interest (coupons) twice a year. Record each coupon payment as a dividend in Sharesight:
- Click on the holding in your portfolio.
- Select Add return > Add dividend.
- Enter the coupon date and amount paid.
Gilt maturity
When a gilt matures, it is redeemed at face value (£100 per £100 nominal). Record this as a sell trade at £100 on the maturity date to close the holding.
Index-linked gilts
Index-linked gilts have their principal and coupons adjusted in line with the UK Retail Price Index (RPI). These can be tracked as a custom investment — update the price periodically to reflect the inflation-adjusted value.
Tax considerations
In the UK, gilt coupon income is subject to Income Tax. Capital gains on gilts are generally exempt from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) for private investors. Sharesight calculates unrealised and realised gains but does not automatically apply the CGT exemption — consult your tax adviser for UK-specific treatment.
See CGT report and Taxable income report for reporting options.
Last updated 17th April 2026