Accounting Services

When it comes to accounting, securities and cryptocurrency traders face several challenges. Incorrect accounting can throw off your entire tax return, so it's imperative to have your ducks in a row.

We offer our trade accounting service only with our tax compliance service, not as a stand-alone service.

We offer an accounting service for traders in securities and Section 1256 contracts using specialized software that’s robust and can handle the most active traders. Our accounting service respects our tax content across the board. We’ve been rendering this accounting service since 2000.

We also offer an accounting service for cryptocurrency traders. Accounting in this area can be challenging without the proper software. All types of cryptocurrency transactions need to be included. Otherwise, the results cannot be accurate. Additionally, the IRS still needs to answer some questions about cryptocurrency tax treatment. We can assure you that we will stay on top of the developments.

Accounting Service For Securities Traders

Accounting for trading gains and losses is the responsibility of securities traders; they must report each securities trade and related wash-sale loss adjustments on IRS Form 8949 in compliance with Section 1091 wash-sale loss rules, which then feed into Schedule D (capital gains and losses).

Broker-issued securities Form 1099-Bs provide cost-basis reporting information. Still, they don’t provide taxpayers with everything they need for tax reporting if the taxpayer has multiple trading accounts or trades equities and equity options. Brokers calculate wash sales based on identical positions (an exact symbol only) per separate brokerage account. However, Section 1091 WS loss rules require taxpayers to calculate wash sales based on substantially identical positions (between equities and equity options and equity options at different exercise dates) across all their accounts, including IRAs—even Roth IRAs. The best accounting solution for generating a correct and compliant Form 8949 is software that’s compliant with Section 1091. Don’t just rely on a Form 1099-B. (Exception: if there is only one brokerage account, the trading is only in equities, and there are no cost-basis adjustments, including wash-sale losses.) Many tax preparers and taxpayers continue disregarding Section 1091 rules, even after acknowledging differences with broker 1099-B rules. They do so at their peril if caught by the IRS.

When you consider a securities trade accounting software and Web-based solution, ask the vendor if they calculate wash sales based on Section 1091, and if not, you may want to skip that solution. TurboTax ads imply you can import your 1099-B. You’ll spend a lot of time finding out in their small fine print about making Section 1091 adjustments on your own. Some brokers offer professional trade accounting software, but it makes wash-sale loss adjustments on identical positions, which is non-compliant.

We offer a professional accounting service.
We download your actual trades for the tax year into our trade accounting solution. We also download January of the subsequent year looking for wash sale (WS) loss adjustments at the current year-end if you are not using Section 475 MTM. We will generate Form 8949 compliant with Section 1091 rules or Form 4797 for Section 475 trades. We also prepare Form 6781 for Section 1256 contracts. You can give these tax forms to your tax preparer or our CPAs for our tax compliance service.

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Accounting Service For Cryptocurrency Traders

If you invested in cryptocurrencies and sold or spent some during the year, it likely triggered a capital gain, loss, or other income, which you should report on your tax return. There is taxable income or loss on all cryptocurrency transactions, including cryptocurrency-to-currency trades, cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency trades, receipt of cryptocurrency in some hard fork or split transactions, purchases of goods or services using a cryptocurrency, and mining income. There are various fees related to cryptocurrency transactions, and the tax treatment varies.

Cryptocurrency tax reporting is complicated and voluminous. We use a cryptocurrency accounting solution to download transactions from your cryptocurrency exchanges. You need to review the download file to be sure all your transactions were imported correctly. It’s normal to have some transactions entered manually.

By default, we use the first-in-first-out (FIFO) accounting method for cost-basis on cryptocurrency capital gain and loss transactions. The IRS requires the “specific identification” (SI) accounting method on intangible property. Still, most cryptocurrency traders are unable to use SI. (See https://greentradertax.com/fifo-vs-specific-identification-accounting-methods).

As intangible property, cryptocurrencies are not subject to wash-sale loss rules for securities. A Section 475 election also cannot apply to cryptocurrencies since they’re not a security or commodity. (See our coin tax and accounting content.)

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If you have any questions about our accounting services, please contact us.