Taxes...bleh!

[dmk112]

I'm getting ready to do my taxes this year and this is my 1st full year as a "trader" and I have over 200 trades + future trades. Now, when I was investing I had to enter each stock with the buy/sell price but now that I have so many trades do I still have to do this tedius task or can I just say what my capital gains are?

Thanks guys.

[IIC]

I'm getting ready to do my taxes this year and this is my 1st full year as a "trader" and I have over 200 trades + future trades. Now, when I was investing I had to enter each stock with the buy/sell price but now that I have so many trades do I still have to do this tedius task or can I just say what my capital gains are?

Thanks guys.

Hire somebody to do it for you...Doug

[sisterwin2]

I am attempting gainskeeper for yr 2006, what a pain. I had to turn it over to someone else myself. sitting on pin/needles to find out what happens

[kc14526]

I'm getting ready to do my taxes this year and this is my 1st full year as a "trader" and I have over 200 trades + future trades. Now, when I was investing I had to enter each stock with the buy/sell price but now that I have so many trades do I still have to do this tedius task or can I just say what my capital gains are?

Thanks guys.

I ran into that problem myself and there is computer software available. I have used TradeLog 300 the past couple of years for $97. It lets you import trade data directly from broker's web sites which saves a lot of time! They have other versions as well as a 30-day trial version. The web site is http://www.armencomp.com/.

Good luck!

Kevin

[dmk112]

Does anyone know the answer to my question? Do I have to write down each trade or is it possible to just put down the total p/l

[New-born baby]

Does anyone know the answer to my question? Do I have to write down each trade or is it possible to just put down the total p/l

You write down each and every trade. Really. The gov't wants proof that your capital gain is exactly what you say it is. If you try a shortcut, it is very likely that you'll be audited.

[Adam]

Hire somebody to do it for you...Doug

Best advice right there!

[Lyehopper]

Does anyone know the answer to my question? Do I have to write down each trade or is it possible to just put down the total p/l

I've used gainskeeper for the past 4 years. My CPA just includes the gainskeeper spreadsheets with the return as documentation. It pays to update your gainskeeper data (weekly if not daily) through out the year, makes thinks much more "tidy".... If you are a very active trader, it's good to view it as a "business" realizing an accurate paper trail in any business is crutial.

[Jim Smith]

I have had trader status with the IRS for several years.....My first accountant wanted to submit a typed list of buys and sells....This only duplicated what my broker supplied and my accountant wanted to charge me $3000 for my tax prep....well, I fired him and got someone else who just supplies the numbers from the gain/loss report.....The IRS seems cool with this because they don't want the mountain of paper either. I trade about 3000 times per year. So now I pay $600 for tax prep....Now the big bite in the back side: I was subject to the AMT for the second year running and this time it was brutal....I had $83000 in trading gains for 2005 in addition to significant royalty income but could not use prior losses to offset those gains because of the AMT rules which disallow prior business losses to offset trading gains.....So, instead of a $14000 refund, I owe another $16000. No wonder the AMT won't go away. I have a really good accountant who gets me more writeoffs than Al Capone ever got. But the AMT is the governments trap and you can chew your foot off but you can't get out of that trap.

[New-born baby]

.....So, instead of a $14000 refund, I owe another $16000. No wonder the AMT won't go away. I have a really good accountant who gets me more writeoffs than Al Capone ever got. But the AMT is the governments trap and you can chew your foot off but you can't get out of that trap.

Wow. A brutal $30,000 swing in price. Question: would filing with all the paper work have saved you $30,000?

[dmk112]

Jim, what is the AMT?

ps Watching the Sopranos tonight??

[Jim Smith]

AMT is alternative minimum tax....It's the secondary calculation the IRS came up with just in case the regular calculation didn't get enough of your money.

And yes I'll watch the Soranos tonight.....I see USA Today gave the episode 4 stars....

[rivercitydan]

Tax Software Help

In an attempt to do my tax return this year, I am exploring software for Schedule D reporting. My accoutant has become more and more expensive each year. I thought I would do the return myself and see how long it takes.

My accountant claims I had over 11,000 trades last year, which includes many partial fills and 100 share lots.

Does anyone use a product that they could recommend that might do my Schedule D, and with this many trades, any idea how much it might cost. I have heard of Gainkeeper and Tradelog, but otherwise I am ignorant.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

River City Dan

[New-born baby]

In an attempt to do my tax return this year, I am exploring software for Schedule D reporting. My accoutant has become more and more expensive each year. I thought I would do the return myself and see how long it takes.

My accountant claims I had over 11,000 trades last year, which includes many partial fills and 100 share lots.

Does anyone use a product that they could recommend that might do my Schedule D, and with this many trades, any idea how much it might cost. I have heard of Gainkeeper and Tradelog, but otherwise I am ignorant.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

River City Dan

The least expensive options are MS Money or Quicken. I would suggest you log your trades every single day, rather than waiting for the end of the month or end of the year. You'd be surprised about how much time an end of the year log takes

[Jim Smith]

I don't send in my trades to the IRS....I just get a profit loss statement from Schwab....At first, my accountant typed up every trade....that cost a fortune...now, we just grab the numbers off the P/L statement at year's end.