We’ve already answered the question of whether or not you have to pay tax on your gambling winnings so if that’s the question you’re asking, check out our other tax entry in our FAQ section. If you just want a short answer, then it is “no” – assuming you live in the UK.
However, even though you don’t have to pay tax on your winning bets, the more tax savvy, or perhaps taxman-wary, punters out there, may still be questioning whether or not they would still have to declare their wins to the tax man.
Again, thankfully, the answer is a simple no (as far as we’re aware). Gambling is not listed by HMRC as a taxable trade, there is no tax due and any income derived from such activities is of no concern to them, meaning there is no need to declare it.
Keeping Records
Having said all this, you may want to keep records of your wins (especially larger ones) in case you are ever investigated as you may need to prove where this extra unearned money has come from – if Joe the postman suddenly starts driving a Ferrari, chances are the tax man might pop his head up and have a poke around just to make sure things are on the up-and-up.
If only all questions relating to tax were so easy to answer!
Tax on Bank Interest
Although any winnings gained from gambling be it online, in a high street bookmaker or in a casino, are exempt from tax in the UK, you may be in a situation where some interest earned on those winnings whilst they are in a bank account, savings account, trust fund or bond will be taxable.
Currently, the UK government allow basic rate tax payers to earn up to £1000 in interest during the tax year before being required to pay tax on this interest. This amount reduces to £500 for higher rate tax payers. So, if you have significant winnings held in accounts that aren’t tax free, such as ISAs and certain National Savings accounts, you could be required to pay tax on the interest accrued.