Traders in Securities
You are a trader in securities if you are engaged in the business of buying and selling securities for your own account. To be engaged in business as a trader in securities, all of the following statements must be true.
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.
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 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.
The amount of time you devote to the activity.
You are considered an investor, and not a trader, if your activity does not meet the above definition of a business. It does not matter whether you call yourself a trader or a “day trader.”
Like an investor, a trader must report each sale of securities (taking into account commissions and any other costs of acquiring or disposing of the securities) on Form 8949 or on an attached statement containing all the same information for each sale in a similar format. However, if a trader previously made the mark-to-market election (see below), each transaction is reported in Part II of Form 4797 instead of on Form 8949. Regardless of whether a trader reports his or her gains and losses on Form 8949 or Form 4797, the gain or loss from the disposition of securities is not taken into account when figuring net earnings from self-employment on Schedule SE. See the Instructions for Schedule SE for an exception that applies to section 1256 contracts.
The limitation on investment interest expense that applies to investors does not apply to interest paid or incurred in a trading business. A trader reports interest expense and other expenses (excluding commissions and other costs of acquiring or disposing of securities) from a trading business on Schedule C (instead of Schedule A).
A trader also may hold securities for investment. The rules for investors generally will apply to those securities. Allocate interest and other expenses between your trading business and your investment securities.
