Reply to: Financial Spread betting, UK Tax, and HMRC. Advice please!

[IR35 Avoider]

So you've been betting for a while now and haven't figured out that gambling wins (and losses) are not liable for tax? Or even debt recovery? Hmmm...

I don't gamble (unless you count a brief period of financial spread-betting in the late nineties) but I was recently speaking to an immigrant with a partner with form for losing family money, and was going to tell her that gambling debts are not legally enforceable, an interesting anomaly of English law I had previously come across.

Luckily I googled/checked, the position changed under the Gambling act 2005. Apparently gambling debts are now legally enforceable.

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

My wife has had to pay VAT on her 15,000 handbags so I beg to differ.

But that's not a waste of money, it's an essential.

[LondonManc]

You can't be taxed on wasting money!!

My wife has had to pay VAT on her 15,000 handbags so I beg to differ.

[Lost It]

Betting

My dad told me, way back when I was in short trousers that "You'll never see a skint bookie son" when I asked him about it.

I haven't either. I've also never ever been in a bookies to give my hard earned money away.

[Lance]

If I know anything about betting, it is this. House always wins.

then you know nothing about spread betting

[Nayab]

If I know anything about betting, it is this. House always wins.

[powerbook]

Yes perhaps. I gave up CFDs years ago, SB all the way now.

[ASB]

Lance, that link will be winging it’s way over to Crunch Accounting. On Friday they told me I must declare SB winnings on my SA. Which didn’t sound right to me. I did indeed search the Internet, however it wasn’t conclusive, hence I sought clarity from a forum.

I know a few folk who trade cfds with ig and others. Taxable. Maybe where the confusion camefrom.

[DimPrawn]

true but that doesn't stop them from taxing profits from Zopa (and other p2p) but not allowing relief on bad debt.

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...er-investments

[Lance]

My understanding are HMRC are reluctant to treat trading/gambling as taxable, because if they do, they must then allow you to offset any losses against tax, which they know, over time, for 95% of traders/gamblers losses is going to be more than profit/winnings.

true but that doesn't stop them from taxing profits from Zopa (and other p2p) but not allowing relief on bad debt.

[DimPrawn]

My understanding are HMRC are reluctant to treat trading/gambling as taxable, because if they do, they must then allow you to offset any losses against tax, which they know, over time, for 95% of traders/gamblers losses is going to be more than profit/winnings.

[northernladuk]

Might be better sending them the HMRC documentation such as this...

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-man...anual/bim22000

[powerbook]

Lance, that link will be winging it’s way over to Crunch Accounting. On Friday they told me I must declare SB winnings on my SA. Which didn’t sound right to me. I did indeed search the Internet, however it wasn’t conclusive, hence I sought clarity from a forum.

[northernladuk]

Which was how I found it.
It's a nice Sunday morning though otherwise I'd have used this https://lmgtfy.com/

You, sir, are a gentleman.

[Lance]

10 seconds on Google would give another 10k plus links saying the same thing you know.

Which was how I found it.
It's a nice Sunday morning though otherwise I'd have used this https://lmgtfy.com/