I made about $700 last year with no dividends and the stocks were all short-term. get a copy of schedule D and fill it out. It is self explanitory. simple put in what you paid for them (including commission fees) held short term (bad move unless it was a stop loss) and the final sale price with approiate fees (aka cost basis which that is provided by your broker) its all under the 1099 forms. Well, wash sales could throw a monkey wrench into the mix. For example, if you sold XYZ for a loss, then bought XYZ back 5 days later and held it through the end of the year, you can't claim that initial loss on your taxes. That's just a very simple example--it can get very tricky.
Read about wash sales for traders at fairmark.com. Everyone should understand them before trading actively. | 