Tell us when you need cash and how much. For each date we pick the gilt that keeps the most after tax, show what it costs today and what comes back — year by year. Closing prices from the last close.
Add a row for each year you'll need money and how much. Each row is one gilt that repays its face value in that year — so the amount you enter is what comes back.
Costs use today’s full (“dirty”) price — the clean price plus interest accrued since the last coupon, settling T+1 — as the gilt table and Compare do. Each coupon is taxed at the rate in force when it’s paid (22/42/47% from 6 April 2027); the part of the first coupon that repays the accrued interest you bought isn’t taxed (Accrued Income Scheme). The gain to £100 at redemption is free of capital gains tax. Coupons aren’t reinvested. A gilt maturing outside the year you asked for is only suggested when it keeps clearly more after tax — cash from an early one would need to sit somewhere until you need it; a late one means waiting, or selling at the market price. How we calculate.
A gilt ladder is a set of UK government bonds that mature one after another — say one in each of the next five years. Each “rung” repays £100 for every £100 of face value you hold on its maturity date, and pays a fixed coupon twice a year until then. Held to maturity, you know today exactly how much cash arrives and when, whatever happens to interest rates in between.
A gilt’s coupon is taxed as income, but the gain from buying below £100 and being repaid at £100 is free of capital gains tax. So for a higher- or additional-rate taxpayer, a low-coupon gilt trading at a discount often keeps more after tax than a higher-coupon gilt with a similar headline yield. This builder ranks the gilts maturing in each year by what they keep after your tax rate, not by the gross yield.
Gilts mature on fixed dates, and some years have only one or two to choose from. If a gilt maturing a few months either side of your year keeps clearly more after tax, we suggest it and say how early or late it repays — you decide whether that fits. In an ISA or SIPP there’s no tax on coupons, so the highest yield simply wins.
You can buy gilts through most UK investment platforms. Prices on YieldSmart are indicative; the price you deal at will differ slightly, and platforms may charge dealing fees. See how gilts are taxed and the full gilt table to explore every gilt.
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.