Dan Erad

[erad]

Spread Betting/Forex help

Hi All, can anybody help?

I am a old age pensioner I would like to invest in forex through a broker or spread betting.
I have practised on several demos & I am ready to place money to gain a profit. I was planning to have two trades a week with a target of 200 pips, each trade being over a few days. The profit ratio of 3 to 1 with a 50% chance of winning, I think it is possible to do this through a broker as they have guaranteed stops & trailing stops.

I would like your views on the tax side I do not wish to be a registered trader but to supplement the pension by 20k if I am lucky, with the most tax efficient means. I was told if I frequently used spread betting or a broker it would be classed as a living is this correct?

Erad.

 

[rossored]

I dont think that sb'ing two times a week is going to raise many people's eyebrows at the Inland Revenue, to be honest. Spread betting, under current legislation, is completely free from any tax - as you are no doubt aware - as it is classed as betting.

If you use a broker for your trading (IB, for example), then once you've reached the CGT allowance your earnings will be subject to CGT.

Other than that, I cant see any problems, but others may have different opinions.