Reporting stock trades........

[bear]

Anyone...

Since I retired I've started to trade stocks...I'm up about 1000 bucks thanks to gold stocks but no thanks to gold stocks.. would have been up lots more....Oh Well, my question is: I'm trading a lot..taking quick profits when I can etc.
If I keep up at this rate I'll have maybe between 500 and 1000 trades to report to IRS by the end of the year.
IS there an easy way to do that..........or is it 1 by 1 as I have done in the past????????? I think I'm creating a lot of taxwork here.......

bear

 

[Red & Black]

1 by 1. Best thing to do is to keep an excel spreadsheet throughout the year and then on Schedule D say See Statement 1. You can put the total short term gain/loss on Schedule D, but you need to break it out trade by trade on the spreadsheet.

 

[bear]

Thanks R&B........I was afraid of that...better get busy

bear

 

[selkirk]

Bear some brokerages send a monthly statement with a all trades, and will send you monthly receipts of all trades.

also contact your brokerage many send a year end statement off all transactions done that year.

would still keep a spreadsheet, (moniter your trades). however I keep all trade receipts and monthly statements, also the year end statements from your brokerages. have had mistakes on the year end statement so keep your own records.(most times year end statement is a great help).


Bear good luck with trading that often and making a profit. not saying you cannot, however that many trades builds up costs (commissions) and seem to be a lot of work.

my number of trades (including options ) would be around 80-150 depends on the year. many times believe that is to high.

know many of these offices that catered to day traders are gone, in Canada had one person who opened up 18 branches. Now has left the business (after it crashed) and wrote a book now on income trusts.

one of his main employees who taught people how to day trade began a mutual fund....not sure but the way they promote if it did good would have heard about it.....


people try to make a few cents a trade seems a hard way to make a dollar.

if you want to speculate find the sector that goes on a run; this is not that hard to spot late 90s and 3 months of 2000 was techs.

last couple of years oil, and base metals resource plays and golds have done well.

good luck on the trading bear, make sure you have rules of when you buy and sell.

thanks
selkirk

 

[MSM]

Bear
I have 2 brokerage accounts and on each you can click on trade history and it brings up all you trades for the year or any specific time you want. You can print them off and you have your record. If you're not doing them online, you should be getting statements every month and a year end tax statement that will list all your trades for the year. I buy and sell quite a lot and that is how I keep track. Very simple. I give the year end tax statement to my accountant and that is all he needs.
What brokerage firm do you use? I have Scottrade and Wells Fargo. I do keep a close eye on it because mistakes can happen.
Good Luck
MSM

 

[bear]

Many thanks guys,

Many thanks guys,

I have the time so I'll begin the arduous task (for me) of record keeping....I tend to be very random and impulsive... so, frequently, I choose not to detail events...or keep detailed records...Even in sports betting...love it however, and I always know how I'm doing. Amazingly can keep many of the necessary patterns and trends upstairs but can't remember what I had for breakfast.
Thanks for your help and suggestions....creeping back into gold/silver as i believe it ready for a little pop here.

GL
bear

 

[s_dooley24]

I have the time so I'll begin the arduous task (for me) of record keeping....I tend to be very random and impulsive... so, frequently, I choose not to detail events...or keep detailed records...Even in sports betting...love it however, and I always know how I'm doing. Amazingly can keep many of the necessary patterns and trends upstairs but can't remember what I had for breakfast.
Thanks for your help and suggestions....creeping back into gold/silver as i believe it ready for a little pop here.

GL
bear

Like gold as well....own in through the ETF ticker GLD...just curious about the record keeping....doesn't your broker send you monthly or quarterly statements? Also you should get year-end tax info....I have a fidelity account and they just mail me all that stuff and i pass it on to the CPA

 

[MSM]

Bear
Again, what brokerage firm do you use? You should be able to get any information you want on line or as Dooley says you should get monthly statements and year end. All I do is check what is done to be sure there are no mistakes. So, don't punish yourself when the work is already done for you.
MSM