Put up to three gilts — or a gilt against a savings account or cash ISA — side by side, and see what each actually keeps after tax, in % and in pounds. Closing prices as of last available date.
Net yields use the same method as the gilt table: every remaining coupon taxed at your rate, the gain to redemption tax-free (gilts are CGT-exempt) — see how we calculate. A gilt’s yield is locked in if you hold it to maturity; a savings or ISA rate can change at any time. £ figures use today’s full (“dirty”) price — the clean price plus interest accrued since the last coupon — as the gilt table does. “Total return after tax” is every remaining coupon after tax plus the gain (or loss) at redemption — the face value repaid minus what you pay today; coupons aren’t reinvested. From 6 April 2027 tax on savings income, gilt coupons included, rises by 2 percentage points (to 22%, 42% and 47%); net yields and totals tax each coupon at the rate in force when it’s paid, and “Income a year” uses today’s rate. A gain on a gilt is free of capital gains tax whenever you sell, not only at maturity; the flip side is that a loss on a gilt isn’t an allowable loss, so it can’t be set against other gains. If you sell between coupons, the interest accrued since the last one is taxed as income (Accrued Income Scheme, holdings over £5,000 face value). “If gilt yields fall / rise 1%” shows how the market value of your gilt would move straight away: as a % of what you pay, in £ on your amount, and in price points — the £ change per £100 face value, which is how gilt prices are quoted. It only matters if you might sell before maturity: held to redemption you still get the face value back. Duration is roughly the % move for each 1% change in yields.
An index-linked gilt pays a lower headline yield but tracks RPI inflation. It wins only if inflation runs above the break-even rate — the inflation rate at which the two gilts deliver the same return. Pick a similar-maturity pair:
Market-implied break-even = the conventional gilt yield interpolated to the index-linked gilt’s maturity, minus its real yield — the same figure the gilt table shows for each index-linked gilt. The line below it uses the single conventional gilt you picked instead of the curve. This is the gross, pre-tax comparison the market uses; tax treatment differs (a conventional gilt's coupon and an index-linked gilt's inflation-uplifted coupon are both taxable income, while the inflation uplift on principal is CGT-free). UK index-linked gilts have no deflation floor.
Information only — not financial advice. Gilt prices are indicative from last available close and may be delayed. Verify before transacting. UK tax treatment depends on your circumstances and may change.