I traded with a proprietary firm this year - my first year of trading. Per their agreement I am listed as an independent contractor since I am not an LLC or a regular employee. The way the prop firm is set up is that you pay a membership fee. This was my first year trading so not surprisingly I didn't make anything and I was in the red all year. I never received any payouts from the prop firm. I asked the firm what I needed to do for taxes and they said that I needed a receipt for all the membership fees paid in 2009. So they sent me that ... but what do I do with it as far as taxes go and how do I claim this loss? Is there anything else I need to do? Any info for others with prop firms would be appreciated.