Topic 429 – Traders in Securities (Information for Form 1040 Filers)
This topic explains if an individual who buys and sells securities qualifies as a trader in securities for tax purposes and how traders must report the income and expenses resulting from the trading business. The term security is defined in Internal Revenue Code section 475(c)(2). In general, the term security includes a share of stock, beneficial ownership interests in certain partnerships and trusts, evidence of indebtedness, and certain notional principal contracts, as well as evidence of an interest in, or a derivative financial instrument in, any of these items and certain identified hedges of these items. Please refer to section 475(c)(2) for a complete list of items that qualify as a security. To better understand the special rules that apply to traders in securities, it’s helpful to review the meaning of the terms investor, dealer, and trader, and the different manner in which they report the income and expenses relating to their activities.

Investors
Investors typically buy and sell securities and expect income from dividends, interest, or capital appreciation. They buy and sell these securities and hold them for personal investment; they’re not conducting a trade or business. Most investors are individuals and hold these securities for a substantial period of time. Sales of these securities result in capital gains and losses that must be reported on Form 1040, Schedule D (PDF), Capital Gains and Losses, and on Form 8949 (PDF), Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets, as appropriate. Investors are subject to the capital loss limitations described in section 1211(b), in addition to the section 1091 wash sales rules. Investors may be able to benefit from a deduction for the expenses of producing taxable investment income. These include expenses for investment counseling and advice, legal and accounting fees, and investment newsletters. They report these expenses on Form 1040, Schedule A (PDF), Itemized Deductions, as miscellaneous deductions allowable to the extent that they exceed 2% of adjusted gross income. They can also deduct interest paid for money to buy or carry investment property that produces taxable income on Schedule A, but under section 163(d), the deduction can’t exceed the net investment income. Commissions and other costs of acquiring or disposing of securities aren’t deductible but must be used to figure gain or loss upon disposition of the securities. Review Topic 703, Basis of Assets, for additional information. Investment income isn’t subject to self-employment tax. For more information on investors, refer to Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses.

Dealers
Dealers in securities may be individuals or business entities. Dealers purchase, hold and sell securities to their customers in the ordinary course of their trade or business. Sometimes they maintain an inventory. Dealers are distinguished from investors and traders because they have customers and derive their income from marketing securities for sale to customers. Section 475 requires dealers to keep and maintain records that clearly identify securities held for personal gain versus those held for use in their business activity. Dealers must report gains and losses associated with dispositions of securities by using the mark-to-market rules discussed below.

Traders
Special rules apply if you’re a trader in securities, in the business of buying and selling securities for your own account. The law considers this to be a business, even though a trader doesn’t maintain an inventory and doesn’t have customers. To be engaged in business as a trader in securities, you must meet all of the following conditions:

You must seek to profit from daily market movements in the prices of securities and not from dividends, interest, or capital appreciation;
Your activity must be substantial; and
You must carry on the activity with continuity and regularity.
The following facts and circumstances should be considered in determining if your activity is a securities trading business:

Typical holding periods for securities bought and sold;
The frequency and dollar amount of your trades during the year;
The extent to which you pursue the activity to produce income for a livelihood; and
The amount of time you devote to the activity.
If the nature of your trading activities doesn’t qualify as a business, you’re considered an investor and not a trader. It doesn’t matter whether you call yourself a trader or a day trader, you’re an investor. A taxpayer may be a trader in some securities and may hold other securities for investment. The special rules for traders don’t apply to those securities held for investment. A trader must keep detailed records to distinguish the securities held for investment from the securities in the trading business. The securities held for investment must be identified as such in the trader’s records on the day he or she acquires them (for example, by holding them in a separate brokerage account).

Traders report their business expenses on Form 1040, Schedule C (PDF), Profit or Loss From Business (Sole Proprietorship). The Schedule A limitations on investment interest expense, which apply to investors, don’t apply to interest paid or incurred in a trading business. Commissions and other costs of acquiring or disposing of securities aren’t deductible but must be used to figure gain or loss upon disposition of the securities. See Topic 703, Basis of Assets. Gains and losses from selling securities from being a trader aren’t subject to self-employment tax.

The Mark-to-Market Election
Traders can choose to use the mark-to-market rules, investors can’t. If a trader doesn’t make a valid mark-to-market election under section 475(f), then he or she must treat the gains and losses from sales of securities as capital gains and losses and report the sales on Form 1040, Schedule D (PDF), Capital Gains and Losses and on Form 8949 (PDF), Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets, as appropriate. When reporting on Schedule D, both the limitations on capital losses and the wash sales rules continue to apply. However, if a trader makes a timely mark-to-market election, then he or she can treat the gains and losses from sales of securities as ordinary gains and losses (except for securities held for investment – see above) that must be reported on Part II of Form 4797 (PDF), Sales of Business Property. Neither the limitations on capital losses nor the wash sale rules apply to traders using the mark-to-market method of accounting.

In general, a trader must make the mark-to-market election by the due date (not including extensions) of the tax return for the year prior to the year for which the election becomes effective. You can make the election by attaching a statement either to your income tax return or to a request for an extension of time to file your return. The statement should include the following information:

That you’re making an election under section 475(f);
The first tax year for which the election is effective; and
The trade or business for which you’re making the election.
Refer to the Form 1040, Schedule D Instructions, Capital Gains, and Losses, for more information on how to make the mark-to-market election. It’s important to note that in general, late section 475(f) elections aren’t allowed.

After making the election to change to the mark-to-market method of accounting, you must change your method of accounting for securities under Revenue Procedure 2017-30. In addition to making the election, you’ll also be required to file a Form 3115 (PDF), Application for Change in Accounting Method (see Revenue Procedures 2015-13, 2015-33, and 2017-30). Publication 550 describes the procedures for making an election under the section called “Special Rules for Traders in Securities.” Non-filing of the Form 3115 mentioned above won’t invalidate a timely and valid election.

If you’ve made a valid election under section 475(f), the only way to stop using mark-to-market accounting for securities is to file an automatic request for revocation under Revenue Procedure 2017-30, Section 23.02. Under that revenue procedure, the request for revocation must be filed by the original due date of the return (without regard to extensions) for the taxable year preceding the year of change. This revocation notification statement must be attached to either that return or if applicable, to a request for an extension of time to file that return. Late revocations won’t generally be allowed except in unusual and compelling circumstances.