Filing for Futures and Commodities Trading

IRS form to file:  IRS FORM 6781 - Gains and Losses from Section 1256 Contracts and Straddles

Form 6781 is used for all commodity futures, index futures, and broad-based index options contracts.

The form is broken down into two sections:

• Part I - Section 1256 Contracts Marked to Market
• Part II - Gains and Losses from Straddles

The advantage of these trading instruments is that they are taxed at a 60% long-term and 40% short-term.

There are no IRS requirements to itemize your futures trades to file your taxes.
Simply take the section 1256 net gain and loss figures from your broker provided 1099 and enter the total on: Part I - line 2 - Net gain (or loss) of Form 6781. 

This is the minimum amount of paperwork required by any of these instruments and makes filing your taxes on Futures trading much simpler than trading stocks and options.  No other reports or attachments are required.

Learn More... Filing Currency Futures

^{Please note: This information is provided only as a general guide and is not to be taken as official IRS instructions. Armen Computing Ltd. makes no investment recommendations and does not provide financial, tax or legal advice. Please consult your tax advisor or accountant to discuss your specific situation. You are solely responsible for your investment and tax reporting decisions, and you should carefully evaluate all information delivered to you by Armen Computing Ltd. and TradeLog. Not all information may be appropriate for all investors.}

• Capital Gains
• Wash Sales
• IRS Schedule D
• Mark to Market
• Which Form to File?
• Stocks, Options, Single-Stock Futures, and Mutual Funds
• Futures and Commodities
• Currency Futures
• FOREX
• Brokerage Reporting
• Common Misconceptions
• Options
• Futures
• Mutual Funds
• Dividends