888.558.5257 / 203.456.1537
Contact Us
If you’ve started day trading, you have until July 15 to opt for this ‘fire insurance’ with the IRS
Andrew Keshner. Read the article on MarketWatch.
July 15 is Tax Day — and the deadline for a decision connected to trading loss deductions next tax season. Quotes from Darren Neuschwander CPA:
The mark-to-market election is like “fire insurance,” according to Darren Neuschwander, CPA and a managing member of Green, Neuschwander & Manning, a firm for traders and investments managers that’s seen a 100% increase in prospective client consultations year-over-year.
The election doesn’t boost someone’s portfolio, but Neuschwander said it makes “a substantial difference when you’re basically burning down in the market.”
The tax code itself doesn’t lay down hard and fast eligibility rules, but Neuschwander said Tax Court cases give guidance. The case law says people who are traders for tax purposes need to make at least 720 trades in the year with an average holding period under 31 days. There’s approximately 250 trading days, Neuschwander noted.
If they’ve already submitted their returns, Neuschwander said they can print the first and second pages of their 2019 return, write “do not process” and include a cover letter stating the election was inadvertently omitted. The post mark has to be by July 15, he noted.
The mark-to-market election can sound enticing, but it can be a drawback in certain scenarios, Neuschwander said.
With more than five months before the year’s done, it may be tough for someone to game out how they’ll end the year. But Neuschwander said it’s a tax strategy they’ll have to weigh one way or another.
“If you’re down for the year, which a lot people may have gotten into this first year… if they have enough trades, and don’t have that capital loss carry forward, you want that fire insurance.”
Should you invest your IRA in a startup?
August 26, 2013, By Glenn Ruffenach. Read the article on MarketWatch.
Excerpt:
“If you’re thinking about entering these waters, get ready for lots of homework and, of course, seek expert advice. Then again, “if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t want any trouble, why go there,” says Robert A. Green, a certified public accountant and chief executive of GreenTraderTax.com, which advises traders.”