Creating a New Data File

To create a new data file

Creating a new data file:

A. Click File, New

A popup dialog box will appear as follows:

B. Select the Tax Year you are working on.
You may also type the year in the box.

C. Type the Taxpayer Name - THIS MUST BE THE NAME YOU WANT TO APPEAR ON YOUR TAX FORMS. If filing jointly you only need to use the primary taxpayer name.

Examples: "John W Cooper", "Joe H Smith.", "Superstar Trading LLC", etc.

Do NOT put a year or date in the File Name. TradeLog will automatically include the tax year you selected in the file name. Remember, the tax year may be different than the current year. It is important that you select the tax year for the data that is going into the file.

D. Type the Email Address associated with your TradeLog subscription by clicking Update Email.

Note: If you need to change your email address, please contact us.

E. Select the File Folder.

Note: If you wish to save your files to another location on your hard drive besides the default location, please click here for further instructions. We highly recommend leaving the default location (C:\Users\...\Documents\TradeLog).

F. Click OK.

G. Click Yes to Confirm the Taxpayer Name as it will appear on your tax return. Click No, if you need to correct it.

The Account Setup dialog box will appear. This will allow you to enter specific account information for one or more brokerages accounts that will be maintained in the file.

1. Select the Broker Name or brokerage firm associated with this account.

2. In the Account Name field, type a descriptive identifier for the account. For example, if your broker is TDAmeritrade you may put "TDAmeritrade".

Note: If you have more than one account at the same brokerage firm, then you will need to give each account a unique identifier. Examples may be: "TDAmeritrade IRA", "TDAmeritrade Trading", " TDAmeritrade John", or you may use your account number.

DO NOT put the tax year in the Account Name field.

3. Next identify the Account Type by selecting one of the listed options.

- Regular Cash Basis (Taxable): this is the type used for most accounts in which you will be filing a Schedule D for tax reporting.

- IRA (Non Taxable): this type is used for any investment/retirement accounts that are non taxable. These accounts will not be reported to the IRS. However, TradeLog will adjust for wash sales that occur in an IRA as required by IRS rules.

- MTM (Taxable): this type identifies files that will be filed using the mark-to-market accounting method. This type is only available for users with a version of TradeLog that supports MTM. Click here for specific details on setting up an MTM account.

NOTICE: In order to file MTM you must qualify based on federal requirements and complete IRS procedures for election of this method of filing. See our Education Topics for more information.

4. Click OK to complete the account setup. TradeLog will now create the file. It will have the Account Tab created with the name you gave the account.

If you have more than one brokerage account, you can setup the additional accounts by clicking on the + tab. Then select Add. You can then repeat steps 1 through 5 above for each additional account.

Note: You can add additional accounts to your file at a later time if you prefer.

To create a new data file