taxes - carrying a position into the new year

[tamree]

hello folks, i just wanna know if someone could explain about the winning trades that u carry over to next year. You donot have to pay tax on the gains right because u have not realized the gains yet . is the above understanding correct. i have a few winning trades that i plan to carry over and looking to early january to close them. thanks in advance guys.

 

[range]

Yes. If you are trading stocks (and have not elected MTM status), your trade will not be taxable until you close the trade. If you close the trade in January, you might not owe tax until April, 2007. However, check to see if you need to pay estimated taxes earlier.

If you are trading futures, you pay tax based on the P/L at year-end.

 

[EqtTrdr]

Quote from range:

Yes. If you are trading stocks (and have not elected MTM status), your trade will not be taxable until you close the trade. If you close the trade in January, you might not owe tax until April, 2007. However, check to see if you need to pay estimated taxes earlier.

If you are trading futures, you pay tax based on the P/L at year-end.

so futures traders don't pay estimated p/l tax quarterly??