My Section 1256 Contracts are classified as Regular Securities

We base our default settings on a list from Twenty First Century Securities. Your broker may classify these as Section 1256 contracts on their reporting while TradeLog does not, based on that list, or the other way around.

It's important to note that the IRS and SEC do not provide a list of contracts that are classified as Section 1256, they leave this up to taxpayers and their advisers to determine. Brokers also must make their own determination of which contracts are Section 1256 and not - and so there can be varying interpretations. Therefore it is up to you to determine how you want to classify these securities for your reporting.

If you choose to leave them as is, then TradeLog will report them with your other securities (stocks, equity options, etc.), so on Form 8949 (or Form 4797, depending on whether you are filing as regular cash basis or MTM trader). If you choose to report them as Section 1256 then you can change the settings in your copy of TradeLog to classify these as section 1256 contracts by adding them to the list of broad-based index options (or removing them from the list in the reversed scenario). See the following instructions: Broad-Based Index Options Settings and then you'll run the Section 1256 report.

Please check with a tax professional to make sure you are treating these correctly.