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Paying tax on stock income

Uriziel
Uriziel Posts: 288 Forumite
Seventh Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
edited 13 December 2025 at 11:15PM in Savings & investments
I have now made more than £3k from buying and selling stocks and am now thinking about how to pay tax on this.

1. I assume I would pay tax on this when I do a self assessment next year after the current tax year has ended. I don't need to buy tax right now. Is this right?
2. If I buy stocks now and make a loss, I can set my profits off and might not need to pay tax at all if overall I make a loss, right?
3. Where on the Trade212 app can I check to get the figure that I would need to use for tax reasons? In the settings in the transactions tab I can see a figure at the top saying "realised profit". Is this what I would need? Does this figure already include my "losses"?

Comments

  • 1. Assuming that your gains are in the current 2025-6 tax year then yes. If you already need to complete a SA for other reasons then select the option to report capital gains in the tailor your return options. If you aren't completing a SA for other purposes then either register to do so before then end of October 2026 or otherwise I think you can use the real time reporting service [I tried this once and, unless it has improved a lot since then, it is easier to complete a SA].
    If you complete your SA before the end of Dec 2026 and the total tax due is less than (I think) £3k then it will be recovered via a change in your tax code rather than needing to pay it in a liump sum.
    2. Yes, losses made within the current tax year can be offset against current year gains. You can also offset losses made within the past 4 years (if not previously claimed) or anytime in the past if you have claimed them within 4 years and carried them forwards. Obviously it's better not to make a loss just to offset the taxable gains! nb: you don't need to have made a loss overall, just reduce them to below your £3k total gains allowance.
  • wmb194
    wmb194 Posts: 6,036 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Uriziel said:
    I have now made more than £3k from buying and selling stocks and am now thinking about how to pay tax on this.

    1. I assume I would pay tax on this when I do a self assessment next year after the current tax year has ended. I don't need to buy tax right now. Is this right?
    2. If I buy stocks now and make a loss, I can set my profits off and might not need to pay tax at all if overall I make a loss, right?
    3. Where on the Trade212 app can I check to get the figure that I would need to use for tax reasons? In the settings in the transactions tab I can see a figure at the top saying "realised profit". Is this what I would need? Does this figure already include my "losses"?
    3. You need to keep your own records. T212's realised profit figures might not be 100% accurate anyway e.g., I noticed on a per security level that it didn't account for stamp duty. The period might not per tax year either.
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