Tax Publications for Traders

[MrDinky]

I'm not a CPA or a tax professional, so please don't PM me with tax-related questions. That said, I'm posting some IRS publications that relate to traders specifically. They may help answer the questions regarding trader status, mark-to-market election, and income and expense reporting. These links are good places to start:

Topic 429 - Traders in Securities (Information for Form 1040 Filers)
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/page/0,,id=105556,00.html

IRS Day Trader FAQ (note the IRS can't even spell correctly)
http://www.irs.gov/faqs/page/0,,id=15846,00.html

 

[MrDinky]

Publication 550 - Investment Income and Expenses
Page 68 contains special rules for securities traders.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p550.pdf

 

[MrDinky]

You will sometimes be asked to refer to Revenue Procedures 99-17 and 99-49 for additional information. Here are the links (these were a bitch to find.)

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb99-07.pdf

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb99-52.pdf

 

[MrDinky]

Used to change method of accounting for securities:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i3115.pdf

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-fill/f3115.pdf

 

[MrDinky]

For traders who have elected mark-to-market:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i4797.pdf

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-fill/f4797.pdf