The new way to trade tax-free*

CMC Spectre is our latest account type, with no margin calls on long positions, and no overnight holding costs. This, combined with the tax benefits of spread betting in the UK – no capital gains tax on profits or stamp duty to pay* – opens the possibility of holding your positions for the longer-term compared with a traditional spread betting or CFD trading account.

*Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future.

Risk warning: 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Spread betting is a way to trade on the price movement of financial markets like shares, indices, currencies and more without owning the underlying asset. You’re essentially placing a bet on whether the price will go up or down, and your profit or loss depends on how far the market moves in your chosen direction.

In the UK, profits from spread betting are typically tax-free. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future.

CMC Spectre retains the tax treatment of spread betting in the UK due to its product structure. Although you’re trading on the price movements of financial markets, you don’t buy or own the underlying asset. Instead, each trade is set up as a spread bet, which under current UK law is classified as a form of betting rather than investing.

Because of this classification, profits from spread betting are typically exempt from capital gains tax, and you don’t pay stamp duty, which would normally apply when buying shares. However, it’s important to note that tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and could change in the future.

You can apply for an account here.

With a CMC Spectre account, you can spread bet on a huge range of markets, comprising more than 11,000 ‘cash’ instruments.

Choose from thousands of shares, plus global indices, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), forex pairs, and precious metal commodities.

Spectre account holders can also trade on our exclusive share baskets, forex indices, and commodity indices, which enable you to trade on multiple related instruments from a single position.

We don’t offer options, forward instruments, treasuries or most commodities with a CMC Spectre account. This still gives you access to more than 11,000 instruments, including indices, forex, shares and ETFs.

A CMC Spectre account is fully margined, so you put up the full amount you want to trade with upfront. With our standard spread betting and CFD accounts, you put up an initial margin, based on the leverage ratio of each asset class and specific instrument. Additionally, in contrast to a standard trading account, there are no forward instruments (futures), and no overnight holding costs.

A Spectre account has an account maintenance fee, which accrues daily and is charged on the third business day of each month.

Standard spreads (the difference between the buy and sell prices displayed in the platform) are applied in the same way as with a standard spread betting or CFD trading account.

There is also an FX conversion fee, which is applied to positions where the bet currency differs from your account currency. The fee is applied to the entire value of the position when the bet is placed.

Account maintenance fee calculation:

Daily fee = Account value x (Account maintenance fee rate / 365)

For the most up-to-date rates, please see our CMC Spectre Account Fees Schedule.

You may receive a margin call if you have an open short position on your Spectre account, and then the market moves against you. If a margin call is triggered, we'll notify you in the platform (or trading app) and via email. You will then have the option to add additional funds to maintain your position, or you can reduce or close your position. If you choose neither of these options, your position could be liquidated. Learn more about margin calls

The calculator sums potential savings from two sources – the holding costs saved and the capital gains tax saved.

For holding costs, the calculator uses historical data to estimate what it would cost to enter, hold, and close a long/buy contract for difference (CFD) position over the selected time period, and comparing it with the cost to enter, hold and close the equivalent position in a Spectre spread bet position over the same period.

For capital gains tax (CGT), the calculator uses the past performance of the selected product to estimate the CGT that would be incurred to invest in a long/buy CFD position over the selected time period, and the amount saved by investing instead in the equivalent Spectre spread bet position over the same period. This calculation depends on the return on the CFD investment/Spectre spread bet return, and we've calculated this based on the past performance of the selected product. The value of your investments may go up or down, and you may get back less than your initial investment, which would mean that no CGT savings would be made.

All calculations and outputs are illustrative only, are based on user-input assumptions, and may not reflect actual market conditions, costs, or tax outcomes. CMC Markets makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of the results produced by this calculator. Past performance or illustrative savings are not indicative of future results. You should not rely solely on this calculator when making investment or tax-related decisions. Independent financial, tax, or legal advice should be obtained where appropriate. We're not responsible for any investment decisions that you make. Spectre products carry a high level of risk to your capital. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change or differ by jurisdiction.

Yes, as a CMC Spectre client, you will have the same protections as a standard spread betting client.

There's no cost to open a live trading account with us. You can also view prices and use tools such as charts, Reuters news, or Morningstar quantitative research equity reports, free of charge. You'll need to deposit funds in your account to place a trade.

Yes, CMC Markets UK plc (registration number 173730) is fully authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. Retail client money is held in segregated client bank accounts and money held on behalf of clients is distributed across a range of major banks, which are regularly assessed against our risk criteria.

Under the FCA's Client Money rules, we're required to segregate client money (unless you agree with us otherwise) from CMC's own funds. The funds held in segregated bank accounts do not belong to CMC, and will be held in a way that enables it to be identified as client money. Learn more about client money regulations

Our income primarily comes from our spreads, while other fees, such as overnight holding costs, also make a contribution to our overall revenue.