Help! Daytrading ES Futures in 2024, got 1099-B with only Box 8-11 filled out. Using Taxact and confused...
I was daytrading ES Futures (ES500) in 2024 and used both Interactive Brokers and Tradovate as my platforms. Just received my 1099-B forms from both brokers but noticed only Boxes 8-11 are filled out on them, with the rest being blank. I'm using Taxact software this year and I'm wondering if I need to manually download all my transactions from each broker and somehow load them into Taxact? That would be hundreds of trades! I called customer service at Tradovate and the rep mentioned something about futures having different reporting requirements, which is why the form looks like this. I checked the IRS instructions for 1099-B and it seems to confirm this, but I'm still confused about the proper way to report this in my tax software. Does anyone have experience with reporting futures trading using Taxact? Do I actually need to import every single transaction, or is there a simpler way to handle this based on the special reporting rules for futures?
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Jamal Washington
The Tradovate rep was right - futures have different tax treatment than stocks. Futures contracts are considered Section 1256 contracts, which means they're subject to the 60/40 rule: 60% of your gains are treated as long-term capital gains and 40% as short-term, regardless of how long you held them. With ES futures, you don't need to enter every individual transaction. The totals reported in boxes 8-11 on your 1099-B actually summarize your aggregate profit/loss. In TaxAct, you'll want to look for the section for Section 1256 contracts or regulated futures contracts. You'll enter the summary amounts from your 1099-B there. You should see a place to enter your aggregate profit/loss amount. This will flow to Form 6781 (Gains and Losses from Section 1256 Contracts and Straddles) which will then calculate the 60/40 split automatically and transfer the appropriate amounts to Schedule D.
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Zoe Papadopoulos
•Thanks for the info! So if I understand correctly, I should look for a specific section in TaxAct for Section 1256 contracts rather than the regular capital gains section? And I just need to enter the totals from boxes 8-11, not all my individual trades?
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Jamal Washington
•Yes, look specifically for the Section 1256 contracts section in TaxAct. You'll just need to enter the summary amounts from boxes 8-11 on your 1099-B. No need to enter each individual trade - that would be incredibly time-consuming and unnecessary for futures contracts. TaxAct will use those totals to complete Form 6781, which handles the special 60/40 tax treatment automatically. The software should then flow the appropriate amounts to Schedule D and your 1040.
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Mei Wong
After dealing with a similar situation last year (I trade /MES and /ES), I found this amazing tool at https://taxr.ai that literally saved me hours of frustration. I was about to manually enter hundreds of futures trades when another trader recommended it. They have a specific feature for handling futures trading that understands the Section 1256 contract rules. I just uploaded my 1099-B forms, and it automatically parsed the data and created the proper entries for TaxAct. It even verified the summary amounts matched what my brokers reported in boxes 8-11.
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Liam Fitzgerald
•Does it work with other tax filing software besides TaxAct? I'm using TurboTax this year but have a similar situation with ES futures.
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PixelWarrior
•I'm skeptical about using third-party tools with my financial data. How do you know it's calculating everything correctly? Especially with the 60/40 rule for futures, I worry about audits if something gets reported incorrectly.
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Mei Wong
•It works with all the major tax software including TurboTax, H&R Block, and TaxSlayer. After processing your data, it gives you a summary report that you can enter into any tax program. Regarding accuracy, that was my initial concern too. The tool actually shows you exactly how it's calculating everything and breaks down the 60/40 split in detail. You can verify the calculations yourself before using the data. Plus, they guarantee their calculations are compliant with current tax regulations. What convinced me was that their results matched perfectly with what my accountant had calculated manually the previous year.
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PixelWarrior
I tried taxr.ai after my skeptical comment above, and I'm honestly shocked at how well it worked. My situation was even more complicated than the original poster's - I had futures trades across THREE different brokers in 2024. The tool identified all my Section 1256 contracts, correctly aggregated the profits/losses, and applied the 60/40 rule perfectly. It saved me from manually sorting through over 900 individual trades! The report it generated showed exactly how everything was calculated, which gave me peace of mind. Their support team even responded within an hour when I had a question about a specific line item. For anyone dealing with futures trading tax reporting, this is absolutely worth checking out.
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Amara Adebayo
If you're struggling to get answers from the IRS about futures reporting requirements, I recommend using https://claimyr.com. I had the exact same question about my ES futures trades last year and needed clarification straight from the IRS. After being on hold for 2+ hours and getting disconnected twice trying to call the IRS directly, I discovered Claimyr. They have this system where they wait on hold with the IRS for you, then call you once they have an agent on the line. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent confirmed exactly what others here have said - with futures, you only need to report the aggregate amounts from boxes 8-11, not individual transactions. Getting that confirmation directly from an IRS agent gave me total confidence in my filing.
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Giovanni Rossi
•Wait, so this service just calls the IRS for you? How does that even work? And are the answers from IRS agents actually reliable? I've heard they give different answers depending on who you talk to.
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Fatima Al-Mansour
•Sounds like a scam to me. Why would I pay someone else to call the IRS when I can just do it myself for free? Plus, how do you know you're actually talking to a real IRS agent and not someone pretending?
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Amara Adebayo
•It's not just making a call - they navigate the complex IRS phone tree and wait through those crazy hold times (which can be 2+ hours during tax season). When an actual IRS agent comes on the line, they call you and connect you directly to that agent. You save all that hold time. The IRS agents are definitely real - they're the same ones you'd get if you called yourself. You're right that different agents might interpret things differently on complex issues, but for straightforward questions like futures reporting requirements, they're quite reliable. I actually called twice using Claimyr and got the same answer both times, which confirmed the information for me.
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Fatima Al-Mansour
I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it since I was getting nowhere with my ES futures questions. I had been trying to call the IRS for THREE DAYS, getting disconnected after 45+ minutes each time. Used Claimyr yesterday afternoon, and they got me connected to an IRS agent in about 43 minutes (while I was doing other work). The agent confirmed everything about the Section 1256 reporting and even walked me through exactly where to enter the information in TaxAct. The service literally saved me days of frustration. For anyone dealing with specialized tax situations like futures trading where you need official clarification, this is absolutely worth it. Never thought I'd say this, but I'm planning to use it again for another tax question I have.
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Dylan Evans
Make sure you're using the correct cost basis method for your futures trades. I messed this up in 2023 and had to file an amended return. For futures, the default method is typically "mark-to-market" at year end, meaning any open positions are treated as if they were closed on December 31st. Did either of your brokers include any open positions in their 1099-B calculations? Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.
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Zoe Papadopoulos
•I actually closed all my positions before year-end specifically to avoid the mark-to-market complexity. But that's a good point - how would I know if the broker included open positions in their calculations? Would it be clearly stated somewhere on the 1099-B?
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Dylan Evans
•Smart move closing everything before year-end! If you did that, then you shouldn't have any mark-to-market issues to worry about. If you did have open positions, most brokers will include a separate section or statement with your 1099-B that specifically identifies "Year-End Mark-to-Market Adjustments" or something similar. Some will also provide supplemental statements explaining how they calculated the amounts in boxes 8-11, including any open positions. If you don't see anything like that in your documents, and you closed everything, you should be good to go.
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Sofia Gomez
Watch out for wash sales with futures! I got flagged for audit last year because...
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Jamal Washington
•Actually, that's incorrect information. Futures contracts (Section 1256 contracts) are specifically EXEMPT from wash sale rules. This is one of the big advantages of trading futures versus stocks. Since futures are marked-to-market at year end and get the 60/40 tax treatment, wash sale rules don't apply to them. You can trade the same futures contract multiple times in a day or immediately rebuy after a loss, and you don't have to worry about wash sales at all. If you got flagged for audit, it was likely for some other reason, not wash sales on futures contracts.
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Harper Thompson
Great thread! Just want to add that when you're entering the Section 1256 contract information in TaxAct, make sure you double-check that the software is properly splitting your gains/losses using the 60/40 rule. I had an issue last year where TaxAct initially treated all my ES futures gains as short-term capital gains instead of applying the 60/40 split. I had to go back and specifically look for the "Section 1256 Contracts" section rather than just entering it under regular capital gains. Also, if you traded on multiple platforms like you did, make sure you're combining the totals from all your 1099-B forms before entering the aggregate amounts. The IRS wants to see one combined total on Form 6781, not separate entries for each broker.
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Jayden Hill
This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation with ES futures trading but using FreeTaxUSA instead of TaxAct. Quick question for everyone - when you say "boxes 8-11" on the 1099-B, are you referring to the aggregate profit/loss amounts? My Interactive Brokers 1099-B shows totals in what looks like box 8 (Net Gain or Loss), but I want to make sure I'm looking at the right numbers. Also, has anyone had experience with FreeTaxUSA's Section 1256 contract entry? I'm hoping it's as straightforward as what you all described for TaxAct. The 60/40 rule seems like it should simplify things once I find the right section in the software. Thanks for all the great advice - this thread probably saved me from hours of confusion!
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