over here, you can file your taxes as "Professional Trader." At one time, when expenses were high it made sense, because you could write them all off. Now, if you are just a small independent, it is better to file as "Unemployed." For one thing it is not that uncommon anymore for anybody in USA to be unemployed, so it doesn't raise any red flags if you are trying to get away with a little hanky panky. otherwise, 250-400 lots of what? That sounds pretty crazy to me, unless you are talking about stocks, not futures.