Difference between Spread betting and CFDs

they offer a tax free product if you lose/win occasionally. If you beat them regularly you are liable to tax
 
But the policy of HMRC is to NOT impose income tax on SB-ers. I'm happy to take the risk that policy could change one day, all government policies can change. But what the SB firms say right now is totally accurate and not misleading in any way - a client will pay no tax on their gains.

The fact that HMRC could change their policy does not make the SB firms shady.

You must have something more convincing on the SB firms surely?
 
To confirm your tax status as a day trader, you need to write to Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), to which they will respond confirming your tax status as one of the following:

Speculative in nature and similar to gambling activities, which would mean that the profits, if any, made from day trading are not taxable and are free of income tax, business tax, and capital gains tax.

If carrying on of self-employed trading activity, in the same way, any individual carrying on business activity is self-employed and “trading”. Self-employed individuals are liable to business tax.

If it is done under the undertakings of a private investor, where gains and losses are dealt with under the capital gains tax regime.


 
To confirm your tax status as a day trader, you need to write to Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), to which they will respond confirming your tax status as one of the following:

Speculative in nature and similar to gambling activities, which would mean that the profits, if any, made from day trading are not taxable and are free of income tax, business tax, and capital gains tax.

If carrying on of self-employed trading activity, in the same way, any individual carrying on business activity is self-employed and “trading”. Self-employed individuals are liable to business tax.

If it is done under the undertakings of a private investor, where gains and losses are dealt with under the capital gains tax regime.


I think we can always trust an accountant to say that you need an accountant.
 
Not really just write to HMRC and get your answer to your *personal circumstance. How can people on here be black and white about spread betting when there sites are full of **exceptions
 
Not really just write to HMRC and get your answer to your *personal circumstance. How can people on here be black and white about spread betting when there sites are full of **exceptions
Err, nooooo.

There are sites full of people who will part 'FX' fools from their money to tell them what HMRC will tell them for free.

🙃
 
To confirm your tax status as a day trader, you need to write to Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), to which they will respond confirming your tax status as one of the following:

Speculative in nature and similar to gambling activities, which would mean that the profits, if any, made from day trading are not taxable and are free of income tax, business tax, and capital gains tax.

If carrying on of self-employed trading activity, in the same way, any individual carrying on business activity is self-employed and “trading”. Self-employed individuals are liable to business tax.

If it is done under the undertakings of a private investor, where gains and losses are dealt with under the capital gains tax regime.



Going into a Casino everyday to gamble = Speculative in nature and similar to gambling activities, which would mean that the profits, if any, made from day trading are not taxable and are free of income tax, business tax, and capital gains tax.

Owning and running a Casino = carrying on of self-employed trading activity, in the same way, any individual carrying on business activity is self-employed and “trading”. Self-employed individuals are liable to business tax.
 
We're still in the same position. And still, it has never happened, either here or anywhere else, that any private retail trader has declared that they are taxed on their spreadbetting profits.
 
You pay income tax on the profits of a trade. It is usually clear whether you are trading - for example a builder, shopkeeper or dentist all know that they are trading.

However, there are some grey areas where an activity may or may not be a trade, or you may consider your activities not to be taxable.

The information below should clarify your tax position, however it can't cover all circumstances. You should seek help from us or a qualified accountant if you are not sure, as there are penalties for not disclosing taxable income.


 
OFX

As someone who has always had an interest in the markets, buys, sells and tries to make a profit from activities on pretty much a daily basis , I think forums such as this are a good source of information, and can provide healthy debate.

And whilst I fully respect you right to have a view, I am interested to understand your motivation behind your posts. You are clearly intransigent when it comes to this particular debate so far, but with the wealth of experience and associated arguments put forward by many of us, you really should reconsider some of what you have been saying.
 
Someone in this thread rather obviously doesn't understand the difference between trading and the carrying on of a trade.

''It's the same word, after all, so it must mean the same thing'' Dooooooh!

Nope. Nil points. No diploma. Go back to infant school.

🤪
 
There would be no one arguing the point that SB is tax free or not if there was not an element of doubt in their minds as to should they be organised as a business due to the possible liabilities and tax treatment of there activities.
 
Actually, it strikes me that there's only one mind that seems to be in any doubt about it.
 
Ok then coin is spread betting scalable?
We had a guy on here who used IG to spread bet over £100 per point on the dow and that was 7 years ago, he made over £90,000 in one day.
He was renowned for those type of things.
All tax free of course.

Anyone remember the guys name?
For more context the dow hit a 'round number' like 17,000 and it fell 1,000 points.
 
Ok then coin is spread betting scalable?
Feel free to enlighten us with even a single solitary example of a case where someone spread-betting at scale has been found liable to pay income tax on their winnings and we'll concede you have a point.

Put up or shut up already.

:sleep:
 
Ok then coin is spread betting scalable?

Yes, very scalable.

I'm now in my 22nd year of making a full-time living from it, and (like many others) have been gradually scaling it up over the decades. For many years, now, I'd have been paying the 45% rate of income tax on it, if it had ever been liable to income tax.

There would be no one arguing the point that SB is tax free or not if there was not an element of doubt in their minds as to should they be organised as a business due to the possible liabilities and tax treatment of there activities.

The point in "arguing" it is simply to correct the grotesque factual misinformation you're so repetitively posting, for the potential benefit of other members.

In some other forums, horribly misleading nonsense of the type you habitually post would be removed as a service to the members and readers. I'm sorry that it isn't, here. "Free speech" has a lot to answer for. Fortunately many people realise that not all "opinions" should be given equal weight, and that some are deluded.
 
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We had a guy on here who used IG to spread bet over £100 per point on the dow and that was 7 years ago, he made over £90,000 in one day.
He was renowned for those type of things.
All tax free of course.

Anyone remember the guys name?
For more context the dow hit a 'round number' like 17,000 and it fell 1,000 points.
I think he had the word 'Doom' in his name
 
Tax Classifications
Part of the confusion around HMRC day trading taxes comes because everyone’s activities are different. Some who trade forex will be given a tax exemption by HMRC, whereas others will face expensive obligations.

UK tax implications are equally as concerned with how you approach your trading activities as to what it is you’re trading. The instrument is just one factor in your tax status. However, case law and regulations have settled on breaking trading activity into three distinct categories, for the purpose of taxation.

1. Speculative
The first category is speculative in nature and similar to gambling activities. If you fall under this bracket any day trading profits are free from income tax, business tax, and capital gains tax. As you can probably imagine, falling into this category isn’t a walk in the park (more on that later).

2. Self-Employed
The second category taxes trading activity in precisely the same way a normal self-employed individual undergoing business activity is taxed. You will be liable to pay business tax, or the obligations of those who fall under the third tax bracket.

3. Private Investor
If you are classed as a private investor your gains and losses fall under the capital gains tax regime. The benefits and drawbacks of which are detailed further below.

It’s worth bearing in mind that because trading activity fluctuates, you could well fall within any and all of these three categories over a given period.

HMRC consider the ‘badges of trade’ in order to determine whether you’re activity will be classed as trading or investment in nature.


Whilst tax rules and regulations remain somewhat grey, judicial decisions and best practice have clarified certain criteria and factors.

Motivation
Despite being one of the hardest areas to make an accurate determination on, this is a vital component.

If HMRC believes your motivation for trading is to generate profits, this will impact on whether they consider your activity as trading for the purposes of taxation.

Of course, they do not simply take your word for it. Instead, they look at the facts surrounding your transactions. They consider the following:

Was it a one-off trade? Alternatively, have there been numerous trades of the same nature, carried out in a similar manner to ordinary traders?
Is this your sole occupation? Alternatively, do you have other employment, suggesting you don’t trade purely to make a living?
What do you do with your profits? Do you re-invest them into more trading activity?
Transaction
HMRC can examine the circumstances surrounding the transaction to identify a trading motive. They will consider the following:

How you acquired the shares – Did you purchase or inherit them? If you sold inherited shares you would obviously be less likely to be classed as trading, and it’s more likely to be considered investment activity.
Timing – What was the length of time between the purchase and sale date?
Means – Did you use finance to buy your instrument?
Cause – Did a sale take place in an emergency? If so, it’s less likely to be considered as trading.
Frequency – Is there evidence of a pattern of trading behaviour? Are you regularly buying and selling in your chosen instrument? This is one of the most important areas of consideration.


 
We had a guy on here who used IG to spread bet over £100 per point on the dow and that was 7 years ago, he made over £90,000 in one day.
He was renowned for those type of things.
All tax free of course.

Anyone remember the guys name?
For more context the dow hit a 'round number' like 17,000 and it fell 1,000 points.
I think it was doomberg
 
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