Do I have to file taxes on investment trades?

Hi,

I wanted to know if I need to file a return. From trading and dividends I've made just about 800 bucks or so on my investments. I have no other income to show and am not declared as a dependent for anyone. If I do are there any forms besides 1040 I would need? Thanks.

Thanks guys for the responses. That's kinda the situation. With the trading the money has sorta been "recycled" so it looks much more than actually there is (~50000) when really it's just a small fraction of that. Only the sell sides are reported to the IRS. I was just wondering since I made capital gains and dividends of 700 bucks or so and since I'm below that 8750 threshold if I had to file. It's really only come to my attention recently that I might have to file even though I don't owe anything. I haven't filed in the last couple years thinking I didn't have to. What do I do to go about that, if I end up having to file for the past? Will there be a penalty?

You'll need a schedule D to show the sales. For each sale, you'll only pay tax on the profits . Losses will be netter out with the profits to determine your total taxable amount.

File it even if your total is below the limit for you to have to owe taxes - since the IRS doesn't have all the info on your basis, otherwise you'll create a mountain of IRS paperwork for yourself since by their records, your whole sale price will be taxable even though that's not really the case.

Add up your dividends.
Add up your interest.
Add up the GROSS proceeds (not the gain or loss).

What is *this* total?

If you are a US citizen, not a dependent, under age 65, your filing requirement is $8750.

The IRS doesn't know what your cost basis was, so they put down zero. If you traded the same $1000 10 times in 2007, it would look like $10,000 of income to the computer if you don't file.

Dividends...yes. You should have gotten a 1099-div for them. On your trades it depends on whether you have a realized gain or not. Did you make sales that resulted in gains or losses. You should get a 1099 for these as well from the brokerage firm you use.