Okay, I think I finally understand how to handle stock/stock options trades when reporting taxes. Can someone shed light on how to go about working with TurboTax if you want to report Futures/Futures options trades? One of the earlier posts mentioned that futures reporting is a lot simpler? Thank you.
Optionable - for futures/futures options you only record the net gain/loss on form 6781. You also qualify for 60/40 tax treatment.
So, does the 1099-B form that the broker sends out contain the information I need to figure out what to enter for the net gains/loss on the 6781 form?
optionable - yes, your broker will give you a 1099 w/ the info you need. Here's a link to tradelog which gives some more detail. http://www.tradelogsoftware.com/tax-topics/futures/
Your net gains or losses should be reported on Field No 0810, Line 3 You can refer to the information by visiting the following URL http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=185692,00.html