IBKR futures tax: why Realized P/L is not your gain

4 Nov 2026product-updatesbrokersguides

Same trade, different tax: IBKR's Realized P/L of $210.86 crossed out, the HMRC gain of £108.23 circled, next to the CGT Calculator corgi.

Futures are now in the report. Upload your Interactive Brokers Activity Statement and every close-out is matched the HMRC way, converted to pounds and placed in the right SA108 boxes. CFDs and Forex CFDs from IBKR come with it.

The short version: the Realized P/L column on your statement is not the figure you file. It is in dollars and it closes your oldest position first. HMRC does neither.

How a close-out is taxed

For most private investors a future on a recognised exchange is a capital asset, not income. HMRC says individuals are unlikely to be trading in futures as a business. Closing the position is the disposal.

The gain is the price difference, less commissions. Not the contract value. Margin is a deposit with the broker, not a cost, so it never shows up. Here is one soybean meal contract from a real statement:

Step	Working	Amount
Open, 8 Oct 2021	`Buy 1 @ 335.9 × 100`	`$33,590`
Close, 21 Jan 2022	`Sell 1 @ 385.1 × 100`	`$38,510`
Price difference	`$4,920.00 × 0.7567 (Jan 2022)`	`£3,723.04`
Commissions	`$2.82 + $2.82, each at its own month`	`£4.20`
Gain	`£3,723.04 − £4.20`	`£3,718.84`

The dollar figure is converted at the HMRC rate for the month you closed. Each commission uses the rate for its own month.

Why the report differs from IBKR

IBKR matches first in, first out. HMRC matches a close-out with opens from the same day, then the next 30 days, then the average of everything still open. Same rules as shares, run separately for each contract and for longs and shorts.

Two close-outs of a 10-Year Yield future in November 2022 show the gap. The first sale was followed by a buy two days later, so the 30-day rule pairs them. FIFO pairs it with something else.

Close-out	IBKR Realized P/L	HMRC match	Gain in the report
7 Nov 2022	`$210.86`	Buy on 9 Nov (30-day rule)	`£108.23`
15 Nov 2022, 3 contracts	`−$795.42`	Section 104 pool	`−£627.42`

Once every position is closed, the dollar total is the same. What moves is which close-out carries the gain, and sometimes which tax year it lands in. The report shows the open each close-out was matched with, and why:

Two 10Y NOV 22 close-outs expanded in the report: the 7 November sale matched with the 9 November buy under the 30-day rule, a $123 price difference and a £108.23 gain; the 15 November sale of 3 matched with the Section 104 pool, a −$703 price difference and a £627.42 loss.

Where it goes on the return

Futures go in SA108 Other property, not with your shares. Box 14 counts one disposal per contract, side and day. Box 15 takes the price difference of the close-outs that made money. Box 16 takes the commissions, plus the price difference of the ones that lost. This is the statement with the soybean meal contract:

SA108 Other property boxes 14 to 19 from the report: 2 disposals, £3,723 proceeds, £1,068 allowable costs, £3,718 gains and £1,064 losses.

CFDs too

IBKR index, share and Forex CFDs get a section of their own. Daily financing and dividend adjustments are part of the gain, counted when you close. They are not a separate income or expense line. The CFD chapter has the details.

Page of the example IBKR report PDF: Schedule H futures disposals for MES and MCL with side, quantity, price difference at the HMRC rate, commissions and gain, totalling £1,066.43; then Schedule I CFD disposals for EUR.GBP and IBUS500, totalling £140.71. — Schedules H and I in the PDF of the IBKR example report.

What is not covered yet

Futures at other brokers are not read from their files. You can add them by hand on the edit page.
Deliveries, and exercised or assigned options on futures, get a warning with IBKR’s figure for you to add.
Gilt futures are exempt, so they are left out on purpose.

Futures support is in beta. Check each close-out against your statement before you file, and tell us if something looks off.

Try it on your statement

Open the IBKR example report to see futures and CFDs in a finished report. Then upload your own Activity Statement. It takes a minute. Futures and CFDs are on the Investor plan, with options. The futures page and the docs explain every rule we apply.