Financial spread betting is the tax-free* alternative to conventional trading, offering the opportunity to take advantage of market movements – whether rising, falling or standing still – 24 hours a day.
Spread betting allows you to bet, or take a position, on whatever you think a financial market will do next. The more the market moves in your favour, the more you profit, with unlimited potential. Conversely, the more the market moves against you, the more you could lose – and you may lose more than your initial deposit. However if you choose to take advantage of our limited risk service, you will know your maximum loss in advance.
Tax-free spread betting*
Unlike traditional share trading (where you pay capital gains tax on your profits), with financial spread betting you pay no tax on your winnings*.
Spread betting is also exempt from stamp duty. When you deal with IG Index you are not physically buying shares, but instead taking a position on whether a share price will rise or fall – so there is no stamp duty to pay.
So what is the 'spread'?
The spread is the difference between the price you can buy at and the price you can sell at. You would buy (go 'long') at the higher price if you think the market will rise, or sell (go 'short') at the lower price if you think it will fall.
As a spread bettor, you would obviously want the difference between the buy and sell prices – the 'spread' – to be as low as possible, so the market does not have to move far before you are in profit. At IG Index, we are committed to offering the tightest spreads available.
Key features of spread betting
- Profits from financial spread betting are free of tax*
- There are no fees or commissions to pay: the only charge is our dealing spread.
- You can access thousands of markets from one account. At IG Index we offer global indices, individual shares, currency pairs, and commodities such as crude oil and precious metals, as well as sectors, bonds, options, binary bets and many more - all from your PureDeal platform.
- You can open positions without putting up the full transaction value; this is known as 'gearing'. For example, if you were to open a position in Vodafone worth the equivalent of £10,000, we would ask you to initially deposit just £500, or 5% of your exposure. However, you should be aware that this magnified exposure means that you can lose more than your initial deposit.
- Spread bet whenever and wherever you want. There are no restrictions as to when you can place a bet, with many of our markets available even when the underlying market is closed. We offer the largest number of 24-hour quotes on stock indices, giving you the freedom to deal whenever it suits you. And with many Mobile Dealing options to choose from you can access your account whenever you need to, no matter where you are.
- Limit your losses with our comprehensive suite of tools to help you manage your risk. For a small premium, our Guaranteed Stops allow you to put an absolute limit on your risk without affecting your potential profits.
Learn more
Find out how to spread bet with our easy-to-use examples or range of seminars. Or, if you're ready to get started you can open an account now in minutes.
*Tax law can change or may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK