Can anyone tell me how to become recognised by the tax office as a day trader?
I've googled, etc, but to no avail and I can't find any info anywhere.
I'm wondering what criteria has to be satisfied in order to be able to register as a day trader.
Also, does anyone know what tax levels would then apply?
Thanks. Harry.

Kyoto, thanks very much for your help. Much appreciated. With both higher income tax and CGT bands taking a 40% cut, am left wondering if there is any advantage to being regarded as Sole Trader ??

It's not a given that CGT would be 40%, as the rate of CGT is dependent on your income. If your profits were taxed under CGT because your tax office decided they didn't regard what you did as 'employment' then what income would you have that would push you into the highest CGT bracket? In reality this might not be likely but it comes down to individual circumstances and which way the wind is blowing at the local tax office when they make decisions.

I'm not very familiar with the ins and outs of being a sole trader but I've spent several years as a company director and I'm aware that some traders go down the route of trading through their own limited company. One of the advantages of being set up in this way are the ability to offset certain costs against tax which are not possible as an individual. But you would have to find accounts that can support the type of legal entity you are trading through, and another downside is that administering a company, even one which doesn't have offices and other employees, can be extremely time-consuming and frustrating because of the enormous amount of red-tape which exists - and as HMRC are fond of reminding everyone "ignorance is not an excuse" - except of course, when it applies to them.