UK Tax rules

[Drew 4]

Hey!

I'm currently trading in SIM but I'm starting to think ahead to when I'm trading live. The UK tax rules for day traders is very grey (as an example, see the two sources below). My aim is to be a full time day trader and to hopefully fall within capital gains tax, not the pricey income/business tax. Most sources suggest to seek advice from a specialist tax advisor - which won't be cheap but is the safest option - but I find it hard to believe that all day traders go down this route? 

Did you contact HRMC or seek help from tax advisors, what did you learn? 

Just to be clear, I am not taking anyone's advice/comments as financial advice. 

https://www.daytrading.com/taxes/uk

https://www.dnsassociates.co.uk/blog/taxes-on-day-trading-definition-and-profits-to-made

[JohnC 5]

Hi Drew,

I'm also in the UK but have only just joined so can't help on this matter i'm afraid. I seen the same tax source's as you and gather it's all  a very area. I'll watch this space !

Can i ask what SIM you have been using, im not in SIM yet (not been a week joined yet !) 

I have come across ProRealTime platform which is linked to IB with only a 3K account size required so i am really keen to use them but unsure as to how the platform performs ?

thanks J

[Drew 4]

Hey John, 

Im using DAS as it’s most commonly used by this community - and for good reason too. It’s simple and fast plus you get discount when you’re a BBT member. You’ll also get a lot of support from BBT on how to use it, such as video tutorials, hot keys, chart configuration etc. Itll be easier to get help or answers on a trading platform  if the majority are using same software. 
 

DAS sim also has replay mode which has ramped up my development curve! 
 

also you don’t need an account balance to use them. 

Edited June 6, 2020 by Drew

[JackBP 3]

Hi Drew,

I also live in the uk and was wondering the same question,

cheers Jack

[t0rdn3 0]

On 6/6/2020 at 6:00 PM, JohnC said:

Hi Drew,

I'm also in the UK but have only just joined so can't help on this matter i'm afraid. I seen the same tax source's as you and gather it's all  a very area. I'll watch this space !

Can i ask what SIM you have been using, im not in SIM yet (not been a week joined yet !) 

I have come across ProRealTime platform which is linked to IB with only a 3K account size required so i am really keen to use them but unsure as to how the platform performs ?

thanks J

Hi John,

I'm just starting out myself, bought Andrew's book 2 weeks ago and finished it, going through the second one while I'm setting up my system.

Did you try out the ProRealTime software?

For the last 18 years I have not touched Windows at all, and actively refuse to use it.

I'm setting up TWS, but certain lack of features -  i.e. partial closing of orders - is starting to annoy me, certainly because I want to use it for fast trading as Andrew shows in his books.

I'm very interested in testing out ProRealTime, but it needs to worth the cost.

Also do you have the playback feature as they mention in DAS?

Thanks,

 

Christopher

[JohnC 5]

Christopher,

Pro Real Time was good for me in the beginning of my learning (still a long way to go) but i have moved to DAS now.

PRT doesn't have the partial closing feature with hotkeys you'd need, the replay feature or L2.  Because PRT is linked to IB you could probably get L2 via IB for a fee i would think.

It is a lot cheaper than DAS so can't hold not having every feature against them. For a swing or trend trader PRT could be a good option but probably not for the faster time frames.  The lack of hotkey script editing is a main draw back. It did allow me to play in SIM while still  going through the education centre at a fraction of cost of having DAS for the same time period. It all depends on how much time you can give to the learning curve while paying for a platform. 

I'm not sure what other platforms have the replay feature but it is a great feature on DAS.

I think they both give a 2 week trial period.

We all know that paying for platform is just part of the cost we have to pay but it's when we start paying is the thing I guess. For me with my time constraints it made no sense to pay for DAS while i was still going through all the materials in the education centre knowing i wouldn't  be live trading anytime soon. Once i felt i had understood enough i have moved to DAS. 

Hope that helps. 

 

 

[t0rdn3 0]

On 3/4/2021 at 9:58 AM, JohnC said:

Christopher,

Pro Real Time was good for me in the beginning of my learning (still a long way to go) but i have moved to DAS now.

PRT doesn't have the partial closing feature with hotkeys you'd need, the replay feature or L2.  Because PRT is linked to IB you could probably get L2 via IB for a fee i would think.

It is a lot cheaper than DAS so can't hold not having every feature against them. For a swing or trend trader PRT could be a good option but probably not for the faster time frames.  The lack of hotkey script editing is a main draw back. It did allow me to play in SIM while still  going through the education centre at a fraction of cost of having DAS for the same time period. It all depends on how much time you can give to the learning curve while paying for a platform. 

I'm not sure what other platforms have the replay feature but it is a great feature on DAS.

I think they both give a 2 week trial period.

We all know that paying for platform is just part of the cost we have to pay but it's when we start paying is the thing I guess. For me with my time constraints it made no sense to pay for DAS while i was still going through all the materials in the education centre knowing i wouldn't  be live trading anytime soon. Once i felt i had understood enough i have moved to DAS. 

Hope that helps. 

 

 

Hi John,

Thanks for that, unfortunately I do like the L2 and even kind of managed to get partial closes to work on TWS. so this is a must.

I probably will have to swallow my resentment for MS products and just go for windows with DAS.

Thanks,

 

Christopher

[JohnC 5]

Christopher,

I don't know if you've looked into this but I just heard Thor mention that he uses a MAC book for  DAS when he's travelling ! 

[Haribo 0]

Parallels for Mac allows you to use Windows. Trial available. Works well with DAS Trader Pro.

Broker CMEG and your High Street Bank is as cheap as any for transferring funds to load your account (after loads of practice in the SIM).

Tax: Seems to be based on number of trades. Few = Investment and therefore Capital Gains. Day trading = trading i.e. like any normal trading business and therefore Corporation or Self-assessment (depending on your legal set-up) applies.