Savings Advice For A Non Tax Payer

DHFQT

I am no longer a tax payer , i gave up work ( ie paid employment )
last February , and i now earn a living gambling on the internet mostly
via Betfair. I am writing to ask you for savings advice on how i can
capitalise on this . I have £ 6000 in mini cash ISAs and am thinking of
investing another £ 3000 each for myself and my wife for this tax year but feel that i dont really get the most from ISAs because i am a non tax payer .
Please advise on what financial benefits i should be taking advantage
of , i am in a position to invest more than £ 6000 if required and
could do this on a regular basis ie monthly .

jimbow25

The same basic principles will apply as for other savers, ie look at Martin's "where to start" article followed by the Cash ISA and Regular saver articles and then the instant access savings, but the difference is you'll get that much more beenfit from an 8% (say) regular saver if your interest isn't taxed anyway. A normal savings account paying 5.7% interest will beat most ISAs straightaway and regular savings will beat that again.

Make sure your banks know not to deduct tax from your interest- I think the form you need is an R85 (someone else may be able to confirm this).

jamesp_3

Have you taken advice on this. I was under the impression that profits from Gambling were tax free as long as those profits aren't your primary source of income. Otherwise, the are subject to normal UK tax rules.

If you earning tax free legitimately, it can be useful to keep your money in ISA's as you never know when you may be subject to normal tax rules again. If in 3 years you want to go back to normal employment and you have 9K in savings that is 9K tax free you will lose out on from now on.

Murdina

straight forward gambling is not liable to UK tax. There is decided case law on this point. Reason for this - we would all do it make loads of losses and claim those losses against our other income. However more serious point HMRC do NOT believe you can make a living from gambling so if you do well and have a nice lifestyle and no obvious income you are going to be asked some awkward questions sooner or later so make sure you can prove each and every win. otherwise they will just say you have been working in the black economy and charge you tax interest and penalties and all the better for them if you have been sensible enough to save your winnings. Good luck!

jamesp_3

Murdina wrote: »

straight forward gambling is not liable to UK tax. There is decided case law on this point. Reason for this - we would all do it make loads of losses and claim those losses against our other income.

Yes but I believe profesional Gambling is subject to tax. Regular gambling isn't. As far as i was aware, you are a professional gambler if your profits were your primary source of income.

Edit - and what would the point of making Gamling losses be just to claim some tax back? You would still be a net loser.

DHFQT

I have contacted the inland revenue personally and via an accountant and i have been assured that i am not liable for any tax on gambling winnings . Dont forget that the government abolished betting tax in a deal with bookmakers who now pay that tax themselves on a percentage of their gross protits ( ie GPT ) in order to stimulate turnover etc. What i was hoping for was some financial advice capitalising on being a non tax payer . Thanks to Jimbow25 i will look into the tax exempt interest on savings .

DHFQT

Come Moneysavers i am a bit disappointed with the number of responses to my query , please feel free to comment

oldfella

if you will be a non-tax payer in the long term, then all your savings decisions are purely where can I get the most interest. Often ISAs give a good return anyway. Suggest regular savers also, particularly those that extend beyond a year like Loughborough and YBS. The one year accounts are probably more trouble than they are worth, particularly if you dont have the time to manage them.

Dont forget the savings are income, if you earn enough interest then its taxable.

DHFQT

Thanks Oldfella for your views , this backs up my thinking though i will chase the special deals and one year accounts because thats what i would do as part of my approach to gambling and i do have the time when i can tear myself off betfair , most accounts can be managed on internet

DHFQT

Decided to go the A+ L Premier ISA @ 8.1 % , have to open Premier current account which is great for opening new accounts with bookmakers who often restrict you on certain bets and of course they love to give away free bets to new accounts . Also looking at Halifax children regular saver 10 % account , someone on here said that after the year was up on the 10 % deal Halifax phoned them up to see if they wanted to carry it on for another year which would be a nice bonus, and could fund this with the £ 500 a month needed to fund the A + L Premier Account .
As a newbie ive really enjoyed checking out this site so much great info in wide range of topics , top stuff

uk_steve

basicly any savings account you open and fill out a r85 form (saying you are a none tax payer) in your circumstances as a gambler i believe you are right *you are a none tax payer*

big but!!!

if you earn intrest of the winnings in a savings account or accounts which is more then £5k in a year just on intrest? then you will pay tax (but this is the intrest not the savings!

basic example if you have 100k and earned 5% intrest and it was now £105k in a year (its tax free)

i know a bit about the pro gambler culture and make sure you do prove your winnings when it comes to it!!

I know a guy who lost his house because he couldnt prove his winnings over a period of time