2012 taxes from daytrading....shaking here

Quote from WorkingSlave:

Thank you for all the responses I had a really rough night on Friday and didn't get out of bed until 3pm on Saturday to avoid being awake.

This is stemming from the fact that I made about 45k on HLF end of December then continued to trade it into January ultimately losing 77k on this symbol in its entirety.

I will be contacting an accountant who specializes in trading to weigh my options.
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not sure if it's really trading. this whole story looks more like a gambling on steroids.
run to the accountant or shaking after looking into PnL and trying to calculate your tax liabilities based on it is...well..pick your word..sorry,but same word can be used to define your "trading".
YOU WAIT UNTIL YOU GOT ALL OFFICIAL TAX PAPERS FROM YOUR BROKERAGE. TYPICALLY- Feb 15

then you do this(in case you didn't read it(cause it's feels like-you didn't):

cc3807b5cc5d.jpg


then you will have your tax liabilities for 2012.. as been said many times here before and after your post- it's not a rocket science,if someone like me, some foreign guy,who not even graduated from school can do this math,pictured above. and i do this probably for last 10-12 years...if you can't figure this one out-then you shouldn't be in trading. period
 
Quote from Brighton:

First, the IRS will only allow refunds if you are filing/amending within three years of the original filing date. They may have a similar requirement for filing/amending returns when the taxpayer wants to record a loss and begin to carry it forward. I think you need to check into the latter scenario.

Second, assuming you're still within the filing windows, you're making this harder than it is. You don't need a CPA to assist you with the tax treatment of section 1256 contracts because they are a piece of cake. You get one net number on your broker's 1099. You enter that into the tax software on Form 6781, it does the 60/40 split, enters the results into Schedule D, and you're done.

Spend $30 to $40 for the federal tax software for each of the years you need to catch up on/amend. Use TaxAct, Turbo Tax or HR Block. They're all about the same - just buy a brand and stick with it so the personal information and Schedule D data transfers are seamless (they all claim to import data from their competitors, but why complicate things).

Bottom line: Spend a hundred bucks or so on software, install it, fill out the most distant year first (e.g. 2009) and you might be surprised at how little time it takes. You'll probably spend more time installing the software than entering data.

P.S. You don't need trader status to utilize the loss carry forward and back 'features' of Section 1256 contracts.
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Thanks for all the advice. Informative - I appreciate it. I downloaded my last 3 yrs tax form from IB website. I guess next step is to buy turbotax and file out the taxes.
 
Quote from gmst:

Thanks for all the advice. Informative - I appreciate it. I downloaded my last 3 yrs tax form from IB website. I guess next step is to buy turbotax and file out the taxes.
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yeah. try it. either buy for 2012 or old one(you can probably find it for free) and just play with it. i prefer Tax Cut.
BUT! keep in mind-all of them are not going to allow to enter number >10M when you calculating your cap.gains(that was another reason,why j have to go to the accountant anyway)

so if your total proceeds or basis are >10M and you trying to file it in one line(like most of us do,cause there is too many transactions)
-it won't work. but it will give you an idea about taxes in general. it's not that complicated
 
Workingslave,

My advice, from this point forward, is stop trying to daytrade. It's obviously not working, and you're just wasting your time. I have given up on daytrading myself. It's too stressful, and results in too many trades that need to be reported.

You COULD trade futures and then you would only have to worry about reporting one number at the end of the year, but you damned well better be very disciplined if you are going to attempt to trade leveraged instruments like futures.

Again, I suggest giving up trying to daytrade altogether. If you feel that you must trade, I would suggest longer term positions that you can hold overnight and sleep well. Don't waste all that time in front of a screen. And don't trade crappy volatile stuff like HLF....trade in and out of the major indices. Go long when the market is very oversold (IF that ever happens again...LOL) and stay in cash when the market seems giddy. (like now)
 
Two things stand out to me besides the obvious gambling problem.

One, you have hopefully helped others here who may not now make the same mistakes. So, thanks for sharing for them.

Two, you are going to be living up to your name- Working Slave for some time to come. Hope things look up for you in 2013.

Woody
 
"1-5 trades a day every business day in 2012."


By the way, that may be enough for trader status according to Robert Green's site.

About 1000 trades total (500 round trip) is needed.

However, the additional (optional) mark to market election has to be made by April 15 of a given year so it is too late for that part for 2012.

You can have a no-obligation phone consultation with Mr. Green for a very reasonable fee.
 
Quote from comintel:

"1-5 trades a day every business day in 2012."


By the way, that may be enough for trader status according to Robert Green's site.

1000 trades total (500 round trip) is needed.

However, the additional (optional) mark to market election has to be made by April 15 of a given year so it is too late for that part for 2012.

You can have a no-obligation phone consultation with Mr. Green for a very reasonable fee.
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every year this time, all the misconceptions come

it isn't that complicated

just a Sunday on the gov site

trader staus is no big deal

maybe it use to be when you had to pay a lot for what is now for the most part free

why do I have to go through this ever year?

if you want to file as "trader"

you file a schedule C

then you can write off the $320 you paid for tradelog

what is that?

at 30%

96 dollars?

maybe you can write off a seminar you took in Hawaii with your wife and kids

you guys crack me up

I don't mind taking the deduction

I mind you being scared they might catch you

Like the man said, "It is immoral to pay all the taxes they say you owe."
 
I agree that I would not carried away with "expenses" from trader status (which, as you say, just means that your trading is qualified as a business).

But a potentially more major advantage is the ability to carry losses out to your other income (in years where they occur) and carry them forward, to a much larger extent that is allowed for capital gains.

It should not be done casually though......


Quote from oldtime:

every year this time, all the misconceptions come

it isn't that complicated

just a Sunday on the gov site

trader staus is no big deal

maybe it use to be when you had to pay a lot for what is now for the most part free

why do I have to go through this ever year?

if you want to file as "trader"

you file a schedule C

then you can write off the $320 you paid for tradelog

what is that?

at 30%

96 dollars?

maybe you can write off a seminar you took in Hawaii with your wife and kids

you guys crack me up

I don't mind taking the deduction

I mind you being scared they might catch you

Like the man said, "It is immoral to pay all the taxes they say you owe."
More...
 
Quote from comintel:

I agree that I would not carried away with "expenses" from trader status (which, as you say, just means that your trading is qualified as a business).

But a potentially more major advantage is the ability to carry losses out to your other income (in years where they occur) and carry them forward, to a much larger extent that is allowed for capital gains.

It should not be done casually though......
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???

now that really takes the cake

you want to file as a professional trader

so you can write your expenses off against your real job

ok

I'm pretty agressive against the IRS

but that one takes real balls

are you sure you know what the hell you are talking about?

or do you just like to throw around cool terms like "Professional Trader"?
 
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