Hello Dave,
What are some of the better methods/ systems traders use to accumulate data for tax purposes. I am stuggling keeping up on my records. I am sure there must be existing methods that traders are utilizing that are more streamlined. (templates, software, or services). I love to trade but can't stand tax accounting. I elected to change to mark to market accounting for 2008. (I am in my first year as a full time trader) Found some data on the web but not much. Trading methods and stock tips are everywhere but very few sites seem to have clear real life examples for one to evaluate. Whether we make a gain or a loss, each trade made the tax man wants his share. Thank you for all the excelent information thus far!

Hey Scanlonized,

Thanks for the comment am glad you like the site and welcome to the community.

This is a tricky one because, as you know, our lovely tax code applies differently to different markets and different types of traders. I am not aware of any cookie cutter software out there but there is a great site with a ton of free information here:

GREEN TRADER TAX

The guy who runs that site is an accountant that specializes in taxes for traders and puts out a ton of free info which you can find on the homepage there. While I have not used him personally from what I have seen he knows his stuff and I have also met him and he seemed like an honest guy.

If you or anyone else finds anything else out there on taxes would be much appreciated if you would post it here.

Best Regards,
Dave

UPDATE: InformedTrades member viriox shared a few more links with us in this tax conversation on InformedTrades. Here are the links he shared:

Tax Help Center
Tax Guide for Traders
Guide to Capital Gains and Losses

for uk based traders, the firm Trio tax for financial traders really know their stuff

That looks like a great resource Arbitrageur, thanks for posting.

Best Regards,
Dave

__________________
Disclaimer: Trading is risky and can result in substantial financial loss. As always my posts are simply one traders opinion and should not be taken as trading advice. I am not a financial adviser so everyone please do their own analysis and take responsibility for their own trades.

You might want to have a look at:

Traders Accounting


(Not a specific recommendation and please do your own research)




Good Luck and Trade Well.....
Flow

Here is another good resource from Dailyfx on tax stuff for forex traders:

Forex Tax - DailyFX Forum

Best Regards,
Dave

__________________
Disclaimer: Trading is risky and can result in substantial financial loss. As always my posts are simply one traders opinion and should not be taken as trading advice. I am not a financial adviser so everyone please do their own analysis and take responsibility for their own trades.

There are two video courses by Robert Green on MoneyShow.com I found useful:
http://www.moneyshow.com/directory/i...4BDFBFD4BF0229
(One must register to watch; it’s free)

Another good recourse: http://www.traderstatus.com/

Hi All,

After doing a bit of research I found some more links on this topic that I thought community members might find useful:

www.edaytradertax.com - Tax resources for the active traders and investors by CPAs
Tax Issues For Forex Traders | Forex Blog: Pipscalibur
Fool.com: Tax Issues for "Traders"
Taxes on Day Trading at SmartMoney.com
More Tax Tips for Day Traders at SmartMoney.com
Fool.com: Tax Issues for "Traders"

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