im with u. This is what I thought as well. Trading income is not earned income.
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Trader tax status question
- Thread starter 10_bagger
- Start date
im with u. This is what I thought as well. Trading income is not earned income.
So sad no other 475 electors who have filed aren't chipping in.
I have “tts” and elected for “mtm” for years and I’m almost certain that income from trading are not “earned income” unless u get incorporated and pay yourself through the business. But my friend, she’s a trader as well and she sound pretty confident so I’m trying to confirm with other traders on here.
hi fonz,
I’m the one that said income generated through trading is not counted as “earned income” and she is the one that say it is if you have trader tax status and elect mark to market.
So are u saying that trading income are counted as “earned income”?
Sorry for the confusion 10_bagger.
When you file as a "Trader in securities" only:
Trading gains and losses from a "Trader in securities" which is the IRS definition of Trader Tax Status for an individual or an entity, is ordinary gains and losses. So, this is in fact ordinary income which is business income and this is why you can deduct your business expenses, like wages, data fees, etc.
http://www.traderstatus.com/trader.htm This old webpage helped me years ago to understand it.
Earned income is not business income, this is income made by employees (like a salary).
Hope this helps.
Earned income is NOT capital gain/loss. Earned income is NOT business income.
Business income is only applicable with an entity. FWIW, a sole proprietorship qualifies as an entity for this purpose. But caution is warranted as a sole prop since capital gain/loss is reported on IRS forms other than Schedule C... no income/revenue from trading is shown on Schedule C, which may cause IRS scrutiny. Footnotes are necessary. Seek professional guidance such as Green.
The trading account MUST be in the name of the entity. If the entity qualifies for TTS, the entity can make an MTM election. If the entity does not qualify for TTS, election of MTM is meaningless, as without TTS, trading income/revenue will not be recognized as ordinary anything by the IRS... It's cap gain/loss and that's that.
If the entity is treated as an S-Corp for tax purposes, business income (trading income/revenue = ordinary business income) can be paid as wages, which includes payroll deductions. Those wages of course are earned income to the employee.
An S-Corp files form 1120s at tax time.
Employees receive a W-2.
Shareholders receive a K-1.
Here's a working version of the link someone else posted.
https://greentradertax.com/how-to-be-eligible-for-substantial-tax-savings-as-a-trader/
HTH
Business income is only applicable with an entity. FWIW, a sole proprietorship qualifies as an entity for this purpose. But caution is warranted as a sole prop since capital gain/loss is reported on IRS forms other than Schedule C... no income/revenue from trading is shown on Schedule C, which may cause IRS scrutiny. Footnotes are necessary. Seek professional guidance such as Green.
The trading account MUST be in the name of the entity. If the entity qualifies for TTS, the entity can make an MTM election. If the entity does not qualify for TTS, election of MTM is meaningless, as without TTS, trading income/revenue will not be recognized as ordinary anything by the IRS... It's cap gain/loss and that's that.
If the entity is treated as an S-Corp for tax purposes, business income (trading income/revenue = ordinary business income) can be paid as wages, which includes payroll deductions. Those wages of course are earned income to the employee.
An S-Corp files form 1120s at tax time.
Employees receive a W-2.
Shareholders receive a K-1.
Here's a working version of the link someone else posted.
https://greentradertax.com/how-to-be-eligible-for-substantial-tax-savings-as-a-trader/
HTH
Last edited:
Earned income is NOT capital gain/loss. Earned income is NOT business income.
Business income is only applicable with an entity. FWIW, a sole proprietorship qualifies as an entity for this purpose. But caution is warranted as a sole prop since capital gain/loss is reported on IRS forms other than Schedule C... no income/revenue from trading is shown on Schedule C, which may cause IRS scrutiny. Footnotes are necessary. Seek professional guidance such as Green.
The trading account MUST be in the name of the entity. If the entity qualifies for TTS, the entity can make an MTM election. If the entity does not qualify for TTS, election of MTM is meaningless, as without TTS, trading income/revenue will not be recognized as ordinary anything by the IRS... It's cap gain/loss and that's that.
If the entity is treated as an S-Corp for tax purposes, business income (trading income/revenue = ordinary business income) can be paid as wages, which includes payroll deductions. Those wages of course are earned income to the employee.
An S-Corp files form 1120s at tax time.
Employees receive a W-2.
Shareholders receive a K-1.
Here's a working version of the link someone else posted.
https://greentradertax.com/how-to-be-eligible-for-substantial-tax-savings-as-a-trader/
HTH
This was very informative. Thank you.