Traders Corner - Trader Accounting RSS Feed

Mark-to-Market Makes a Magical Difference for Most Traders

Michelle Boyer (TradersAccounting.com) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 05:05:00 EST

Whenever we consider the benefits of trader tax status, the one item that tops the list is the ability to elect a special accounting method known as mark-to-market, or MTM for short.

Lost in Translation: Foreign Exchange Tax Codes

Michelle Boyer (TradersAccounting.com) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 05:04:00 EST

Remember that hit movie �Lost in Translation,� in which a clueless Bill Murray wanders dumbstruck through the foreign and thoroughly baffling world of modern-day Tokyo?

LLC + C Corporation = A Tax-wise Combination

Michelle Boyer (TradersAccounting.com) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 05:03:00 EST

Incorporation has many advantages for traders who want to grow their wealth by reinvesting profits and deducting trading expenses with a firm conviction that there is tax law standing behind a corporation that is not available to someone trying to trade as a �trader in securities�.

Don't Be Hung Out to Dry By Wash Sales

Michelle Boyer (TradersAccounting.com) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 05:00:00 EST

The Internal Revenue Service loves to tax capital gains, but they are just as diligent to disallow capital losses that might offset those lucrative cash cows. Case in point: the wash rule. The wash rule prohibits traders and investors from claiming a capital loss if they buy replacement stock 30 days before or after the sale of a security.

Best Way to Avoid Cardiac Moments? Accurate and Timely Trade Accounting

Michelle Boyer (TradersAccounting.com) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:59:00 EST

Put yourself for a moment in the shoes of one Anna E. Charlton, an adjunct law professor at Rutgers University who, along with her law professor husband Gary Francione, operated the Rutgers Animal Rights Law Clinic/Center from 1990 to 2000.

You Say You�re a Trader? Be Prepared to Prove It to the IRS!

Michelle Boyer (TradersAccounting.com) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:57:00 EST

The first and perhaps biggest hurdle that every new trader faces come tax time is to convince the Internal Revenue Service that you are, in fact, a professional trader and not merely an overactive investor. Fail to do so and the tax consequences could severely affect how much of your earnings Uncle Sam will allow you to keep.