View Open Trades:
► Click here to watch us demonstrate this.
The Open Trades View allows you to see a summary of all trades open as of a given date. In addition, you can look up current prices for the open trades in order to analyze unrealized gains/losses.
TRY THIS: See what you can do by viewing Open trades.
- On the toolbar, click the green Open button to display the Open trades view. By default, TradeLog will display open trades as of the last record date in the file.
- Try clicking the Year End Open Positions button to view the list of positions open as of the end of December. You can also click on the Open as of date selection tool and select a specific as-of date.
- You can Copy or Print the list of positions – which is especially helpful when verifying year-end open positions in your data file.
- In the Open trades view, you can enter the current prices for all positions open by clicking on Get Current Prices.
Adjustments for Options Traders:
► Click here to watch us demonstrate this.
Do you trade options? TradeLog has two important functions to automate adjustments for exercised/assigned options and to close out expired option positions.
TRY THIS: See how TradeLog automates option adjustments.
- Select the Trading Account tab, then under the Adjustments menu, click Exercise.
Notice that there are two option contracts discovered by TradeLog that could be adjusted. Click the Exercise button in the lower right corner to adjust each position. Then when prompted, click Yes to save your records.
You'll notice that TradeLog closes the option positions to net a zero profit/loss, then adjusts the price of the stock positions by the amount of the contracts exercised. This is what is required for proper IRS reporting. - While you are still in the Trading Account tab, go to the Adjustments menu and click Expire.
A dialog box will open and prompt you to select a date. TradeLog will expire any options that are still showing open as of that date but should be expired. The default date is the last date in the file. Then click ok. - TradeLog will isolate a list of the options to expire and will create the expiration leg of the trade. You'll notice the expiration record has a zero price. Click Yes when prompted to save the records. TradeLog will then go to the Open Trades View where you can see that the expired options are no longer listed as open.
You can either click on the Close button to exit the Open Trades View, or you can hit the Esc key on your keyboard.
Generate Tax Reporting:
The main reason active traders use TradeLog is to generate accurate tax reporting. With the sample TradeLog file we will show you the most common tax reporting used.
TRY THIS: See how TradeLog generates an IRS ready Form 8949.
► Click here to watch us demonstrate this.
- Select the All Accounts tab so that you can run complete tax reporting. While you can run tax reports from individual account tabs, some IRS rules require cross-account adjustments (including with non-taxable accounts). When you run your reporting from the All Accounts tab, TradeLog will account for all these necessary IRS rules.
- Go to the Reports menu, and click Form 8949.
- The report menu will open where you have several options to customize your reporting settings – just leave the default settings and click the Run Rpt button in the upper right corner.
- You may be prompted with a warning that some 1099-B information is missing, just click Yes to continue and you'll view the draft report.
- TradeLog will generate an IRS-ready Form 8949. Scroll through and notice that all of the trades have been listed in the appropriate sections.
On page 6 you'll see that TradeLog generates a summary page and instructions – this page helps you enter the correct totals on Schedule D or in your tax filing software.
Page 7 is a Statement Explaining Form 8949 Differences and Adjustments. Many TradeLog users who file Form 8949 also include this statement as an attachment for the IRS – it helps explain the specific situations that have been accounted for in the Form 8949. - Notice at the top of the window there are some options to Copy the report data, which can then be pasted into a program like Microsoft Excel, you can save a PDF, or also export data formatted for TurboTax® or TaxACT®.
- The bottom of the window provides a summary section where you can see key totals.
- Now click the CLOSE button on the toolbar, or hit the Esc key on your keyboard, to return to the Main Grid.
TRY THIS: See how to run a Gains & Losses report.
- Go to the Reports menu and choose Gains & Losses.
- Keep the default settings for the report and click the Run Rpt button in the top right corner.
- This report contains all the same taxable reporting that was on the Form 8949 but in greater detail. For example, notice how wash sale adjustments (shown as "WS Adj") are detailed so you can see exactly what trades triggered a wash sale resulting in an adjustment to cost basis. The Form 8949 lacks this level of detail.
This report can be used in some states for filing Schedule D for state tax returns. Otherwise it is used for your records to provide the details of your taxable reporting. - Now click the CLOSE button on the toolbar, or hit the Esc key on your keyboard, to return to the Main Grid.
TRY THIS: See how to generate a Wash Sale Details report.
- Go to the Reports menu, and click Wash Sale Details to run the Wash Sales Detail Report.
- This report provides details of all wash sales that occurred in the tax year of the file. The first page includes a summary to help you understand which securities have wash sale deferrals and the type.
This report is not sent to the IRS but is important for your records so that you have details of each wash sale that affected your tax reporting. - Now click the CLOSE button on the toolbar, or hit the Esc key on your keyboard, to return to the Main Grid.
There are other types of tax reports which TradeLog generates, but they are not applicable to this example account. You can click here to learn more about other reports in TradeLog.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.