Recent content by compound3

You've summed up the situation pretty well. They want to have their cake and eat it. HMRC will gladly chase after all of those minority of traders who make good money and try and get them to pay income tax on their winnings, but if you are one of the majority who have lost money, then your...

I've not had any experience with the IRS so can't make any direct comparisons, but HMRC have been getting more and more hard nosed in recent years and will often try to operate beyond their powers or what the law is just to get more revenue in. As you have experienced, if you stop paying tax...

You are absolutely correct about there being little direct guidance from HMRC concerning forex trading which is why this matter is not dead simple. CFDs are an asset in the same way as shares, silver bullion, land, toilet rolls and paper mills are. If you know your case law then you will...

If you think that this matter is dead simple then you clearly have not studied the relevant legislation, case law and HMRC guidance and in this area. As a starting point you might want to look on HMRC's website, and whilst you are there take a look at the CGT section and you will find that...

I'm not quite sure what you think is rubbish. As I explained Class 2 & 4 NIC and income tax are paid by sole traders and Corporation Tax is paid by limited companies. You don't pay any NIC on dividends but you may have a liability to further income tax if you are a higher rate tax payer. As...

Random is absolutely correct in his assessment of the tax situation. If you are trading in the same sense as any other trade and fulfil the badges of trade then you will be liable to income tax and Class 4 NIC and you should register for Class 2 NIC if your profits in a tax year exceed £5k. If...

Like I said before, over 90% of people would be better off starting with CFDs and registering as self employed. That way any losses would be trading losses and could be offset against any other income in current or previous tax years. Make sure you are squeaky clean before you do so though...

Not true. The badges of trade apply whether you've got another job or not. If you are running a business, even if it is part time, then you are liable to Income Tax and NIC not CGT. If you were employed and earning £50k a year but also ran a pub, would you expect to pay CGT on the beer you...

There isn't a black and white answer to that. What you are asking is under what circumstances spread betting could be subject to tax Talk of taxing spread betting comes from decisions made by local inspectors as to what they think constitutes gambling and what constitutes operating a trade...

You would have to look carefully at what your expenses were for and how they were incurred. You can only offset expenses incurred wholly and exclusively for business use. So for example, if you bought a new PC for trading and it cost £1,000 and you only ever used it for trading CFDs then it...

A complicated possibility. You would be restricted on your choice of broker and the terms they would offer you, such as costs and max leverage because of the limited liability aspect as the broker would be taking a greater risk than a retail account. You would also incur quite a few...

The difference between a private trader and a unit trust is that unit trusts are exempt from CGT but pay a flat rate of income tax at 20%. The other big restriction is that Unit Trusts cannot borrow money so could never open a leveraged position and thus trading forex is a non starter for them...