Do you need to report any trading activity when filing taxes?
Hey everyone, I'm pretty new to investing and started trading stocks last year. I made some money (around $2,800) but also had some losses (about $1,200). I'm not sure if I need to report all of this on my taxes? Do I need to report every single trade I made or just the final profits/losses? My brokerage sent me some tax forms but honestly they're confusing. Also, does it matter if I haven't withdrawn any of the profits from my trading account? Thanks for any help!
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Dmitry Petrov
Yes, you definitely need to report your trading activity on your tax return, even if you haven't withdrawn the money from your brokerage account. The IRS considers stocks "sold" when you execute the trade, not when you withdraw the cash. Your brokerage should have sent you a Form 1099-B that summarizes all your trades for the year. You'll use this to complete Schedule D and Form 8949 for your tax return. You don't have to list every single trade line-by-line on your actual tax return if your 1099-B shows all the required information with covered transactions - you can summarize them by short-term and long-term categories.
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StarSurfer
•Do wash sale rules apply if I sold some stocks at a loss but bought similar ones a week later? Also, what about crypto trading? Are the rules different?
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Dmitry Petrov
•Yes, wash sale rules absolutely apply if you sold stocks at a loss and purchased "substantially identical" securities within 30 days before or after the sale. The loss gets disallowed and added to the cost basis of your new position. Your 1099-B should reflect these adjustments. For cryptocurrency, the rules are similar to stocks - you need to report all transactions that resulted in gains or losses. The IRS treats crypto as property, not currency. However, your exchange might not provide a complete 1099 for crypto transactions, so you may need to track these manually. The reporting still goes on the same tax forms though - Schedule D and Form 8949.
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Ava Martinez
After struggling with similar tax questions last year, I finally found something that saved me hours of frustration. I used https://taxr.ai to help analyze my trading tax documents and it made things so much clearer. I uploaded my 1099-B and got a breakdown of what needed to be reported, including how to handle my wash sales (which I didn't even realize I had).
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Miguel Castro
•Does it work with multiple brokerages? I have accounts at both Fidelity and Robinhood and reconciling them is a nightmare.
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Zainab Abdulrahman
•I'm a bit skeptical about using third-party services with my financial docs. How secure is it? And does it handle crypto trading too or just stocks?
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Ava Martinez
•Yes, it absolutely works with multiple brokerages! I had accounts with TD Ameritrade and Webull, and it combined everything seamlessly. It actually flagged some discrepancies between them that would have caused issues with my filing. Regarding security, I was hesitant about that too. They use bank-level encryption and don't store your actual tax documents after processing. As for crypto, yes it handles that too - I had some Bitcoin and Ethereum trades that it properly categorized, but you'll still need your transaction history from your exchange since many don't provide proper tax forms.
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Zainab Abdulrahman
Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try taxr.ai after seeing this thread and wow, what a difference! I was really skeptical at first, but it actually identified several wash sales in my trading activity that I completely missed. It showed me exactly which trades were causing tax issues and how it would affect my return. The breakdown of short-term vs long-term capital gains was super helpful too. Saved me from potentially making some serious reporting errors.
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Connor Byrne
If you're having trouble getting answers from the IRS about how to report specific trading scenarios (like I was), try https://claimyr.com - they got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes after I spent days getting busy signals. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I had questions about reporting forex trading that wasn't covered clearly in any of my broker's tax forms, and the agent was actually super helpful once I could finally speak to someone.
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Yara Elias
•How does this actually work? Does it just keep autodialing the IRS for you or something? I've been trying to get through for weeks.
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QuantumQuasar
•Yeah right. Nothing gets you through to the IRS faster. I'll believe it when I see it. Been trying to get answers about my options trading for months with no luck.
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Connor Byrne
•It uses a system that basically holds your place in line so you don't have to keep redialing. It monitors the IRS phone system and calls you back when it actually gets through to a human. Then it connects you directly to the agent. It absolutely works. I was skeptical at first too, but after waiting on hold for 3+ hours multiple days in a row, I was desperate. The system got me connected to a real IRS agent who answered my specific questions about reporting Section 1256 contracts and foreign exchange trades.
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QuantumQuasar
I have to eat my words. After posting my skeptical comment, I figured I had nothing to lose and tried Claimyr. I got through to an IRS agent within 20 minutes after spending literally weeks trying on my own. The agent clarified exactly how I needed to report my options trades and which specific form I was missing. Saved me from filing incorrectly and potentially getting audited. Definitely worth it for complicated tax situations where you need official clarification.
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Keisha Jackson
Don't forget that different types of trading activity get reported differently! Regular stock trades go on Form 8949 and Schedule D. But if you did any options or futures trading that falls under Section 1256 contracts, those go on Form 6781 and get the special 60/40 tax treatment (60% long-term capital gains rate and 40% short-term rate). Also if you made over $1,000 in capital gains you might need to pay estimated taxes quarterly for next year to avoid penalties.
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Paolo Moretti
•Wait what??? I did options trading last year and just reported everything on Schedule D. What's this Form 6781 you're talking about? Did I file wrong?
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Keisha Jackson
•Not all options require Form 6781. Only certain types of contracts like regulated futures contracts, foreign currency contracts, and non-equity options are Section 1256 contracts that require Form 6781. Standard equity options (calls and puts on individual stocks) are reported on Form 8949 and Schedule D just like regular stock trades. So if you were trading regular stock options, you probably filed correctly. But if you were trading futures options, index options (like on the S&P 500), or certain other types, then yes, those should have been on Form 6781 to get the 60/40 tax treatment.
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Amina Diop
Quick question - if I only made like $300 total from casual trading, do I still need to file all these extra forms? Seems like a lot of work for so little money.
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Oliver Weber
•Yes, legally you need to report ANY capital gains regardless of amount. The $300 is still taxable income. The good news is that if your total taxable income is low enough, your capital gains rate might be 0%. But you still need to report it.
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Kolton Murphy
@Sofia Gutierrez - Yes, you absolutely need to report all your trading activity! Since you made $2,800 in gains and had $1,200 in losses, your net gain of $1,600 is definitely taxable income that must be reported. The key thing to understand is that it doesn't matter whether you withdrew the money or not - the IRS considers the trades "realized" the moment you sell, regardless of whether the cash stays in your brokerage account. Your brokerage should have sent you Form 1099-B which summarizes all your trades. You'll use this to fill out Schedule D (Capital Gains and Losses) and potentially Form 8949. The good news is you don't need to list every single trade individually on your return if your 1099-B shows all the required information - you can usually summarize them into categories. One important thing to watch out for: if you sold any stocks at a loss and then bought the same or "substantially identical" stocks within 30 days, you might have wash sales which can disallow some of your losses. Your 1099-B should show these adjustments if they apply. Since this is your first year dealing with this, consider using tax software that can import your 1099-B directly, or consult with a tax professional if the forms seem too overwhelming. Better to get it right than risk issues with the IRS later!
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