3SOF

hi basonista,
i just read my name as living outside the us.
i actually divide my time between wisconsin and australia but my tax status is here in the usa.
oh........and i am completely lost on the tax thing so thanks for starting this thread .
question. am i given to understand that i have to print on a form every trade?
scottrade sent me a schedule of all my trades . last year i made a loss so i wont have to pay tax right?
help  (gulp)\
maXI

Quote from: rickjust on March 11, 2006, 04:13:43 PM
am i given to understand that i have to print on a form every trade?
scottrade sent me a schedule of all my trades . last year i made a loss so i wont have to pay tax right?

maXI

rick -- You have to use Form 1040, schedule D to file your trades. It will let you enter a maximum of 5 trades. If you need more space, fill form 1040, schedule D-1 and report the amount on schedule D.

As far as your loss, no, you won't have to pay taxes, and better, you can use it and deduct it from your taxable income...

hi,
only 5 trades ! need more space? i'm gonna need enough pages to fill "war and peace"
maxi 

Get a copy of Turbo Tax Premier ($75).  It sets up the forms for you.  For some brokers, you can download all of your yearly trades electronically directly into the software.

JKN

I have Ameritrade and lots of trades.  Ameritrade has Gainskeeper but is there a way to import the information into TurboTax without having to manually enter each trade.

Thanks.

Quote from: kslifka on March 15, 2006, 05:02:01 PM
I have Ameritrade and lots of trades.  Ameritrade has Gainskeeper but is there a way to import the information into TurboTax without having to manually enter each trade.

Thanks.

kslifka(?), I also have Ameritrade and used Turbotax Premier to do my taxes.  The download that I got from Ameritrade was in a tax program format that Turbotax should have been able to read.  Every time I tried to import the file into Turbotax, the program said that the file was empty.  I finally gave up and imported the information from Quicken.  Just as fast and easy!  All of the information was there and I had to correct nothing afterwards!

Basonista,

Thanks for your reply.
Do you have the on-line edition or desktop edition of TurboTax?  I couldn't find an upload  function from the on-line edition except for the the brokerage firms listed on the site, and Ameritrade wasn't listed???  I don't want to pay for the desktop if I can't get the service I need.

Thanks again.

I have the full version for PC and have never tried the online version.  When it came time to import brokerage information Ameritrade wasn't one of the brokerages listed in the Turbotax program.  That is when I tried and failed at the Ameritrade download file and decided to import directly from Quicken.  Earlier in this thread, I posted how I went through the process of upgrading Quicken to Premier and getting both that and Turbotax on Ebay for a very reasonable price.  I use Quicken daily for family finances and investments so the upgrade was natural.  I have also used Turbotax for several years now but never online.  Good luck!

Repost from Swing Trading MB: (March 5 - 10th post from top)
http://www.3stocksonfire.org/trading/index.php?topic=3635.450

BTW, I have used TaxAct.com (free online version) http://www.taxact.com/ for several years with great results.  Yes, I only use the free version and I definitely recommend it!  (free tax return, free federal e-filing and a small fee for state e-filing.  Can't beat the free price and fast e-refund). 


I did taxes this weekend.

= Those new to stock trading and doing taxes, this is important! =

= Following information is for individual USA trader who is required to do IRS tax filing (this is not legal tax advise.  Consult your own accountants for tax issues.) =

Stocking trading gain/loss information must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service on 1040 Schedule D (D-1):  http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/lists/0,,id=97817,00.html

1.  Stocks traded need to be grouped by the same stock symbol (I alphabetize A-Z).
2.  Trades must be separated into short-term (held less than 1 year) and long-term (held more than 1 year).
3.  On 1040 Schedule D, list the total number of shares and stock symbol traded, dates bought and sold (if multiple trades on same stock, put "various" for both), Sales price (Sell price), Cost price (Buy price), and Gain or Loss.

= For TaxAct, instead of putting "various" for multiple dates of transaction on the same stock, I put the earliest buy date for purchase and the latest sell date for sell. If you put "various" for TaxAct or other computer tax software, it will not process the return.  If you are doing the return "manually" using IRS forms to be mailed to IRS, you can put "various" =

4.  If you need more space, use 1040 Schedule D-1.
5.  Capital gains tax must be paid on the gain and stock trading loss can be deducted, but there's a limit to how much you can deduct per year and you may have to spread the deduction over several years (refer to tax instructions).

I use Scottrade for stock trading, and Scottrade has a nice software called "GainsKeeper" (Home > My Account > GainsKeeper > Export Data) that allows you to export your trade activities to TurboTax/TaxCut software, Excel Spreadsheet format, or text file format.


Don't put off doing this because it does take some time if you are not using TurboTax/TaxCut software - I had thousands of transactions that had to be grouped and tallied.


I e-filed my federal and state returns (federal e-filing is free, small fee for e-filing state return) on March 6th using TaxAct and already got my returns deposited in the bank! 

.....And one more thing you need to have present.  It's very important.  The wash sales rule:  If you sell a stock for a loss,  and buy the same stock within the 30-day period before or after the loss-sale date, the loss cannot be immediately claimed for tax purposes.

I recommend use a software that help you with this rule.  Turbo tax on line do that.  And the gains keeper report from Scottrade too.


Bye,   

nica33

The wash sale rule isn't fair because it doesn't go both ways. If you take a loss and then buy back within 30 days, you can't claim the loss in your taxes. But if you book a gain and then buy back within 30 days, you have to pay taxes on the gain. Example: I bought CRXL in October 04 at 9.50. I sold it in June 05 at 22.50. I bought it back 3 weeks later at 22.07 and am still holding now. If the wash sale rule was fair and equitable, my basis would be 9.03, I wouldn't have to pay taxes on that first sale, and I'd now be in capital gains territory. Kind of makes me want to "fix" this on my tax return.       

Thanks LiveLife for the website. You guys are in top of everything!!!

I just filled my taxes this weekend.
Everything worked out very good,

rafael

What is the rate for long term vs short term. I think is 20% vs 35% or something like that

Quote from: YUNUS on March 04, 2006, 12:35:41 AM
No, I'm not in US
Wanna something more abt taxes.

Bye
YUNUS

I asked ameritrade to open an account (non-US resident) and they told I can open one. I also have to fill up Form W-8BEN. I think to get Tax benefits you must reside in a country that has Tax Treaty Benefits with US so you dont have to pay tax in US.

Does anyone pay estimated taxes? The last two years I have been hit with a penalty charge for not paying estimated taxes since I made a material amount of income from stocks. When you pay estimated taxes, do you just guesstimate how much money you've made in stocks for the quarter and send the IRS 20-25% of it?