Risk Warning

Last updated: July 2026

CFDs are complex, leveraged instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly. The majority of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs and spot forex work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Please read this page in full before using PipTax. It explains the risks of the products we write about, what PipTax is and is not, and the limitations of the information we publish.

1. Trading CFDs and forex is high-risk

Contracts for difference (CFDs) and leveraged foreign exchange are traded on margin. Leverage means a relatively small deposit controls a much larger market position, so both profits and losses are magnified. Losses can accumulate very quickly, and in some circumstances — particularly with brokers outside FCA-style negative balance protection — you can lose more than your initial deposit.

• Markets can move sharply and without warning. Prices can gap through stop levels, and standard stop-loss orders are not guaranteed to execute at the price you set.
• Trading costs — spread, commission and overnight swap/financing — are incurred on every position and reduce your returns even when your market view is correct. Frequent trading compounds these costs.
• Currency risk, counterparty risk, platform outages and execution slippage can all affect your outcome.
• The majority of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. This is not a slogan; it is a consistent finding across brokers' own published figures.

You should never trade with money you cannot afford to lose, and you should not fund trading from borrowing, essential savings or money set aside for living costs.

2. PipTax is a comparison and education service — not a broker

PipTax, operated by Evander Labs (registered in England and Wales; company number ), is an independent cost-comparison and education website. To be completely clear:

• We are not a broker. We do not execute trades, provide trading platforms or offer any financial instruments.
• We do not hold client money or client assets of any kind. You will never be asked to deposit funds with PipTax.
• We are not ourselves authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and nothing on this site constitutes investment advice, a personal recommendation, or an invitation or inducement to trade.
• Financial promotion approval. The financial promotions on this site are approved for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by [approver firm name], which is authorised and regulated by the FCA (FRN [FRN]). Approval date: [date].
• We compare trading costs and mechanics only. We do not, and will not, tell you what to trade, when to trade, in which direction to trade, or whether trading is suitable for you at all.
• We make no promises about profit. No comparison, calculator result or article on this site should be read as suggesting that trading — with any broker, at any cost level — is likely to be profitable for you.

3. Our cost comparisons are informational and have limitations

The PipTax calculator models per-trade and per-month trading costs across brokers. You should understand how these figures are produced and where they can be wrong:

• Source of data. Current figures are drawn from brokers' own published specifications (typical spreads, commission schedules and swap rates), and are clearly labelled as indicative sample data. Live-measured cost feeds are in development but are not yet the basis of our published comparisons.
• Modelled, not quoted. Results are estimates for a modelled trade, not quotes. Your actual costs will vary with your account type, position size, instrument, time of day, market conditions, holding period and execution quality.
• Spreads are variable. Published "typical" spreads generally reflect normal conditions. Spreads routinely widen around news events, at market open and close, and in thin liquidity — sometimes substantially.
• Broker loss figures. Where a broker publishes the percentage of retail investor accounts that lose money trading CFDs with it, we display that percentage alongside the broker in our comparisons, dated, and refresh it when the broker updates it.
• Errors and changes. Brokers change their pricing, account types and swap rates without notice, and despite our care our data may contain errors or be out of date. Always verify current costs directly with the broker before relying on them.
• Coverage. We compare a selection of brokers and instruments, not the whole market. The cheapest broker in our comparison is not necessarily the cheapest available to you.

4. Past costs and conditions do not guarantee future ones

A broker's historical or currently published spreads, commissions and swap rates are not a guarantee of the costs you will actually pay in future. Interest-rate changes alter swap rates; volatility alters spreads; brokers restructure their pricing. Equally, past market conditions, and any past trading results — yours or anyone else's — are not a reliable indicator of future performance.

5. Check any broker yourself before opening an account

Inclusion of a broker on PipTax is not an endorsement, and it is not a statement that the broker is authorised in your jurisdiction or suitable for you. Before opening an account with any broker, you should independently:

• Verify the broker's regulatory status. For UK residents, check the specific legal entity on the FCA Financial Services Register. Many brokers operate multiple entities under different regulators, with materially different protections.
• Confirm which protections apply to your account — for example negative balance protection, segregation of client money, eligibility for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and access to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Accounts opened with non-UK entities may carry none of these.
• Read the broker's terms of business, costs and charges disclosures, and the Key Information Documents for the products you intend to trade.
• Understand the broker's margin, stop-out and dispute procedures before funding an account.

This site is directed at users in the United Kingdom. If you access PipTax from elsewhere, the information may not be appropriate for your jurisdiction, and local restrictions on CFD trading may apply to you.

6. How PipTax makes money

PipTax may earn a commission through disclosed affiliate links if you open an account with a broker via our site. Two things about this are fixed policy:

• Our rankings and comparisons are computed from cost data only. Affiliate relationships never affect how a broker ranks, and cannot be used to buy a position in our results.
• Every page containing affiliate links carries a disclosure line identifying them as such.

Affiliate income does not change the risk of the underlying products: trading CFDs remains high-risk regardless of which broker you choose or how low your costs are.

7. Consider whether you can afford the risk

Before trading CFDs or leveraged forex, ask yourself honestly:

• Do I understand how leverage, margin calls and stop-outs work?
• Could I afford to lose the entire amount I intend to deposit — and would that loss affect my household finances?
• Do I have the experience and time to monitor leveraged positions in fast-moving markets?
• Am I trading with money that is genuinely spare, rather than borrowed or needed for other purposes?
• Do I understand the tax treatment of my trading? Tax depends on your individual circumstances and may change.

If the answer to any of these is no, CFDs are unlikely to be appropriate for you.

8. If you are unsure, take advice

PipTax cannot and does not provide investment advice. If you are in any doubt about whether trading leveraged products is suitable for you, seek advice from an independent financial adviser authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority before opening an account or placing a trade.

Contact

Questions about this page or our data sources: hello@piptax.com. PipTax is operated by Evander Labs.