Tax Strategies

We are a leading site and CPA firm focused on tax strategies for traders and investment managers. We spend considerable time and effort researching our tax strategies and creating unique and valuable content available on our blogs, Webinars, trader tax guides, magazine articles, videos, speaking engagements, media interviews, radio shows and more. You can count on GreenTraderTax to offer unique content and strategies that are battle-tested with the IRS and otherwise. We debunk troublesome strategies offered by our competition too.

Here are some quick links by tax strategy topic: These are just some of our proprietary trader tax strategies, and we have many more.

For what's new for 2013 and 2012, see Green's 2013 Trader Tax Guide's Executive Summary.

Trader tax status (business treatment)

• How to qualify for trader tax status and unlock a bevy of business tax breaks.
  
  • Trader Tax Center basics.
  • Green's Trader Tax Guide: Chapter 1.
  • Tax Season Webinars

Tax treatment elections.

• Section 475 MTM – ordinary “tax loss insurance” for business traders only.
  • Trader Tax Center basics.
  • Green's Trader Tax Guide: Chapter 2.
  • Tax Season Webinars
    
• Section 988 forex rules. Ordinary losses or lower 60/40 tax rates on gains? Click here for Quick Links Area.
  
• ETF tax treatment. Special rules and nuances. Click here for Trader Tax Center.
  
• Precious metals. Special rules and nuances. Click here for Trader Tax Center.
  
• Section 195 start-up costs. Special rules and nuances for trading businesses.
  • Green's Trader Tax Guide: Chapter 5
  • Various Webinars.
    
• Section 274(h)(7). Disallowance of certain entertainment, etc., expenses. This includes travel seminars for investors. How best to deal with these rules. Watch Webinar: How Traders Deduct Education dated Feb. 12, 2013.

Entities and retirement plans for traders.

• The best entities for traders. Click here for Quick Links.
  • Green's Trader Tax Guide: Chapter 7.
  • Tax Season Webinars
  • Entities service page
    
• The best retirement plans for traders.
  • Trader Tax Center basics.
  • Green's Trader Tax Guide: Chapter 8.
  • Tax Season Webinars
• Retirement services page has several strategy articles from Green. Click here.
  
• How to avoid taxes on your retirement fund’s trading assets. See above links.
  
• Self-employment tax. When you're exempt, and when you want to pay a little SE tax to drive retirement plan and health insurance deductions.
  • See any of our Trader Tax Webianrs, towards the end of the presentation, just after retirement plans.
  • Also covered in Green's Trader Tax Guide.
    
• How to avoid trouble with dual-entity schemes, including C-corps. See our Entities Quick Link page.

Tax planning, tax changes, and tax threats.

• Year-end tax planning. Special strategies for traders.
• Tax changes. Recent ones and what’s under discussion.
• How to position yourself to do well under potential tax reform.
• Are lower 60/40 futures tax rates in jeopardy?
• Watch out for potential financial-transaction taxes.
  All of the above is covered in Green's Trader Tax Guide, Webinars and blogs

IRS and state tax exams and controversy.

• Arguments to use with IRS agents questioning trader tax status.
• Arguments to use with state examiners, asking about hobby loss rules.
• How to get tax exams reconsidered (ended) quickly. See Green's Trader Tax Guide.
• Strategies in appeals and tax court.
• How to stay out of trouble on foreign bank accounts and offshore income.
• Whether or not you should consider the IRS OVDI program.
  All of the above is covered in Green's Trader Tax Guide, Webinars and blogs

Investment management businesses.

• Carried-interest tax breaks: What they are and how to utilize them.
• Carried-interest tax breaks for hedge fund managers. Are they going to be repealed in tax reform coming soon?
• S-corp. tax elections: How management companies can reduce self-employment tax in this structure.
  All of the above is covered in Green's Trader Tax Guide, Webinars and blogs

Proprietary trading.

• How to avoid SE tax by being a K-1 member, rather than being an independent contractor.
• How to deduct deposits.
  All of the above is covered in Green's Trader Tax Guide, Webinars and blogs

Regulations.

• How to operate an investment management business before you register on the state or federal level. See several recent Webinars.
• Dealing with the new CFTC retail off-exchange forex trading rules and staying out of trouble offshore. Click here for our main forex tax and regulation page and scroll down to Regulation.
• Dodd-Frank Fin Reg and dealing with ongoing rule making efforts. See several recent Webinars.

Next steps.

We recommend a 30-minute phone consultation with Robert A. Green, CPA.