The Trader′s Tax Survival Guide (A Marketplace Book) - Hardcover

Tesser, Ted

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471179655 ISBN 13: 9780471179658

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 1997

Synopsis

Tax planning for traders and investors

Stories abound of fantastic market gains reduced to tragic losses due to poor tax preparation and planning. This is the trader′s and investor′s total guide to thriving under the current investment tax laws. Drawing on real court cases and IRS hearings where many of the thorniest investment tax regulations are deciphered, this guide helps readers exploit all available tax options to optimize their investment returns. There are tax saving strategies, advice on handling an IRS audit, a concise listing of allowable expense deductions and instructions on how to qualify for and profit from "trader′s status."

TED TESSER (New York, New York) is a CPA specializing in investment taxation. He conducts a popular seminar series entitled How to Create and Manage a Profitable Trading Business.

About this title

About the Author

TED TESSER is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. He has a master′s degree in accounting with a specialty in investment taxation, and is an active trader. He is President of Waterside Financial Services, a firm with offices in New York City, Boca Raton, Florida, and Marina del Rey, California. Ted specializes in assisting investors and traders with tax, retirement, estate, and financial planning issues. Ted Tesser is also well–known for his popular seminar series entitled "$5 a Day to Financial Freedom."

From the Back Cover

"The worst crime a trader can make is to have made money, but then to hand it right over to the government because of a fundamental lack of knowledge of the tax laws and the strategies which can be used advantageously." Ted Tesser.

The first and only tax guide written exclusively for traders and investors has been thoroughly revised and expanded to arm you with the knowledge and strategies you need to thrive under current investment tax laws. Written by Ted Tesser, an active trader as well as an accountant specializing in investment–related taxation, The Trader′s Tax Survival Guide helps you to exploit fully all available tax options for the highest possible return on your investments.

Drawing on actual court cases, this indispensable guide covers all the bases, providing complete details on everything from getting around the 2% itemized deduction limit and preparing for an audit to planning for retirement and transferring wealth to future generations. You′ll also find vital information on how the Tax Reform Acts of the past decade including the tax code changes of 1996 and 1997 affect you and your investments.

Just as importantly, The Trader′s Tax Survival Guide introduces you to Total Return Investment Planning (TRIP), a major component of Ted Tesser′s extremely popular seminars on how to create and manage a successful trading business. TRIP is a simple but very effective methodology for evaluating your investments from a "total return" perspective that integrates good tax planning with good investment planning. With the basics of TRIP in place, you can then take full advantage of Tesser′s invaluable tax–saving strategies, 66 specific methods for reducing your tax burden.

Readers will also appreciate the chapter on the preferred tax status of "trader." Most investors (and their tax preparers) don′t realize that you need not be a professional market maker working the exchange floor to claim "trader" status. Nor are they aware of the many substantial advantages that status entails such as being able to list all your expenses on Schedule C and deduct them from your trading income. Here, Tesser provides detailed guidelines on how to qualify for trader status and use it to your utmost financial advantage.

We′ve all heard horror stories of fantastic market gains that were transformed into tragic losses due to poor tax planning. Don′t let that happen to you. This updated edition of The Trader′s Tax Survival Guide, written with an abundance of wry wit and liberally peppered with eye–opening anecdotes, shows you how to keep more of what you earn from your investments in your pocket and out of the hands of the IRS.

"If I wrote that I was going to review a book that defines a ′substantial element of pleasure,′ you would probably never guess it was about taxes. But then you haven′t seen Ted Tesser′s The Trader′s Tax Survival Guide." Stanley W. Angrist, The Wall Street Journal.

". . . covers the basics in a very entertaining manner. . . . If you weren′t aware that your trading may be considered a business and that this status carries certain tax benefits, the Survival Guide′s chapter on these topics may be just the ticket to get you started. The book would also be a good refresher on organizing your life in a tax–smart way. The least you′d get from the Survival Guide would be a good read and more than a few wry chuckles." John Sweeney, Technical Editor Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities.

"Every stock and commodity trader should have Ted Tesser′s book. Trader or not, The Trader′s Tax Survival Guide is packed with as much vital tax information and strategies as the stadium on Superbowl Sunday. But there′s more, Ted also explains how you can arrive at the status of a ′trader′ for the IRS, thus being able to write off and save many $. . . . " Larry Williams, Commodity Timing Newsletter author, McMillan on Options.

Edition details

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0471179655
• ISBN 13: 9780471179658
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 320