Spread bets are exempt, CFDs and rolling spot forex contracts are capital gains, and only a genuine trade pays income tax. How HMRC decides which one you are, and what happens to the losses under each.
Stocks and crypto on eToro are capital gains, CFDs are derivatives, and every copied trade is your own disposal. What eToro reports to HMRC from 2026, what it never has, and where the pooling goes wrong.
Trading 212 sends nothing about your Invest account trades to HMRC. Gains over £3,000 are taxed at 18% or 24%, dividends over £500 at 10.75%, and the ISA sits outside all of it. The pooling rules the app does not apply.
Swapping one coin for another, spending crypto and giving it away are all disposals in HMRC’s manual. What gets taxed before any money reaches your bank, and what does not.
Gifting an asset is a disposal at market value, so tax can fall due when no money changed hands. The spouse and charity exemptions, and where the recipient inherits your history.
Buy UK shares electronically and 0.5% comes off automatically. What SDRT covers, what escapes it entirely, and how it feeds into your capital gains numbers later.
Capital gains tax is charged on the profit when you dispose of something that grew in value, at 18% or 24% above a £3,000 allowance. The computation, step by step.
UK residential property has a 60 day clock. Everything else waits for Self Assessment, due 31 January after the tax year. The three timelines and which one is yours.
The dividend allowance is £500 and the rates rose on 6 April 2026, to 10.75% at basic rate and 35.75% at higher rate. What you pay, when you report it, and what stays tax free.
CFDs are capital gains under section 143, spread bets are untaxed gambling with no loss relief. The tax difference between the two products, and what forex traders should know.