Hi, Could anyone recommend any tax preparation services that can also handle trading in options and futures and basically multiple trading scenarios. I have been using TurboTax online till now, but this year I realize filing taxes has become crazy complex with all the credit spreads etc. i have been doing. So, is there any service that I can just send over all my income statements and brokerage statements and they handle everything including the filing of the tax return?? Thank you.
If you trade a lot, I can't imagine a tax preparer not costing you an arm and a leg to reconcile everything. I've done my Sched D for decades but when I began trading heavily in '07, I was overwhelmed when I had to deal with the wash sale rules. If you scale in and out of positions, it's a nightmare - I spent 2-3 weeks trying to resolve it and gave up. I got Tradelog to prepare my Schedule D (there's other software out there as well). It has a tiered pricing which is based on how many trades you have (highest level is more than 1500 trades per year). It downloads directly from my broker and all I have to do is deal with is providing info for splits, mergers, etc., if any. It handles wash sale violations flawlessly. If interested, search here for add'l posts and also Google them.
Well, I guess I am way ignorant on what needs to be done... I was sent a 1099-B form. So, I need to use some software to prepare a 'Schedule D' form and then send this Schedule D with my tax return?? Or something like that?
Can't we simply put in the net profit for the year from our broker's account statement and attach it as a proof? Dissolving every single trade will be quite a pain. And even more if you have to convert to your currency.
Interactive Brokers' new tax reports have a schedule D. I wonder if you can just send that it without typing in.
I'm no tax expert so I'm just asking... If you do not have Trader Status and therefore do not use mark-to-market accounting, how does doing that deal with wash sales (if you have them)?
sure. someone like http://greencompany.com/ will do it but if you just send them a pile of papers expect a big bill.
If all your activity is trading (i.e. short term), you can avoid the wash sale rules entirely by simply not trading a security for 30 days. That might not be practical for you, and your Schedule D won't properly reflect each transaction, but if you can manage it you'll find that in aggregate you'll be reporting the correct short term capital gain. The IRS can go through it and make all sorts of adjustments and they'll still come up with the same tax. Also, as a practical matter, just be sure the gross proceeds on your Schedule D match what your broker is reporting. The IRS doesn't presently receive anything related to the basis (i.e. purchase cost) of your stocks so can't really do any computer checking.
Oh damn....a bit umm lost... Okay...so I have a 1099-B from my broker...listing every single transaction and the values in boxes 8,9,10 & 11. So, in language a kid can understand, could someone please tell me what to do next? or point me to a website or book or link that would help me figure it out? Thanks a lot in advance!!!