What is the impact to US taxes when trading French (0.3% FTT on buys) and Italian (0.2% FTT on buys) stocks, that have the dreaded Financial Transaction Tax? IBKR Activity Report for 2020 lists few thousand dollars under Transaction Fees, which I traced back to mainly French and Italian FTTs. I am able to get credit for Foreign Taxes paid but it only applies to foreign taxed dividends (1099-DIV line 7) not FTTs. When spot checking IBKR's Form 8949 for trades on the Paris exchange, the cost basis column seems too low, meaning that it does not look like FTTs were automatically added to costs by the broker, unlike broker commissions. I could be wrong, as it's hard to have the exact numbers as everything is converted into USD, while the trades were in EUR. Is there a way to deduct/credit these FTT costs, on US taxes, as an investor? How about as a trader, who qualifies for Trader Tax Status, at least in future years?
From a general tax perspective (not US specific), the FTT will increase the cost basis of the transaction. So when you sell the shares the overall gain will be decreased by the FTT amount and you will be paying less capital gains tax. I'm interested to find out if the FTT is charged to international investors.
Costs were not increased automatically by the broker by the amount of the FTT. Has anyone done it manually when filing US taxes, and what code would you use for the adjustment? "When spot checking IBKR's Form 8949 for trades on the Paris exchange, the cost basis column seems too low, meaning that it does not look like FTTs were automatically added to costs by the broker" FTTs are charged to everyone no matter the nationality/residence. I'm a US citizen with French and Italian FTTs charged. "IBKR Activity Report for 2020 lists few thousand dollars under Transaction Fees, which I traced back to mainly French and Italian FTTs."