Not just subscriber data fees but also exchange commission fees that I would have to pay on each trade as well. Take a look at IB or any broker's website and you will see there is a HUGE difference, several times over AT LEAST.
No. You are confusing legal status vs business structure ! In terms of legal status yes, liabilities etc. fall to the owner, just like in a partnership. BUT THAT IS IRRELEVANT FOR THE MARKET FEEDS ! But, just like a partnership, a sole proprietorship is a business structure like any other. A sole proprietorship can have its own bank account, its own insurance etc. A sole proprietorship is OWNED by a natural person, it IS NOT a natural person in its own right. It is a business structure NOT a natural person ! JUST READ THE DARN SMALL PRINT : There is ZERO,NADA, NIET CONFUSION. "proprietorship" quite obviously comes under "all other persons". HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF ? A "natural person" is just that. If you are not opening the account and signing the form in your OWN PERSONAL NAME as a natural person then you are "professional". If you are opening an account and signing the form on behalf of an entity, whether sole proprietorship or otherwise then you are a "professional". PLEASE PEOPLE. Ignore the word "professional" !! Just read the darn small print and forget what you might the traditional definition of "professional" ! REMEMBER: Contracts can redefine words as they please, so "professional" in a contract might not mean the same thing that you think it does ! READ THE SMALL PRINT !!!! Jeez... why was I dragged back into this stupid thread. You are now on my blocklist !
Note that Tim Smith has me on ignore so he won't see this post. Here is the case you are ignoring though: it is possible for an individual to open an account under their own personal name and use their own social security number and then later be treated by the IRS as a sole proprietor in terms of the tax code. Consensus appears to be that this individual is a "non-professional" and yet is a sole proprietor.
This idea that the # of trades qualifies someone as TS is ridiculous. Any clown could simply fire off a bunch of trades - say 10 shares of the spy and exit immediately after making 4 trades per day at a commission of $8 - taking virtually no risk and spending very little time on this. I would think the IRS would smoke them out right away in an audit . Many pros may not generate a lot of trades yet could easily make it through an IRS audit since they can prove trading is a business for them.
Hey btw CoM... Thanks for that tip on that software that figures out wash sales etc, I can't find the thread, but I bought it today. Thats gold. My 1099 is a mess to be sure. Hope it works.
But what if I want to incorporate but my account with my broker is still in my own name NOT in the name of the corporation and I have NO clients and receive no compensation whatsoever, would I still count as individual according to NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ? It's those exchanges that I worry about. CME has already established they will accept corporation as individuals as well as long as I get no clients and do not advise anyone else and receive no fees and just trade purely for myself. As far as Canadian taxes is concerned, sole proprietor is different from corporation. With sole proprietor, everything is still taxed at personal tax rate whereas with corporation, the tax rate is half of that of the personal tax rate. I know IRS might be different but I don't care about IRS, I am NOT a US trader.
Don't know about Canada but in the US would be a big no-no to use income on corp taxes with a non corporate brokerage account.