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If you’re a trader, you already have enough on your mind – you don’t want to worry about taxes. Still, taxes are crucial, especially if they’re not handled correctly. Improper tax reporting can cost you thousands of dollars – money that should go into your pocket, NOT to the IRS. Trader tax law can be very complex. However, GreenTraderTax has a way to simplify things – the GreenTraderTax Guides. The content will greatly increase your knowledge of trader tax law, and when used in conjunction with GreenTrader's other services, they will provide the tax benefits you're entitled to. These guides and book are clear and concise and will significantly enhance your understanding of trader tax benefits.

We recommend our current Green's 2010 Trader Tax Guide (Green & Company, Inc., 52 pages) and our in-depth older hardcover book The Tax Guide for Traders (McGraw-Hill 2004, 308 pages). Our hardcover book covers important tax information, and although trader tax laws haven't changed significantly since 2004, there are many important new strategies, dos and don’ts, tips and tax law changes included in Green's 2010 Trader Tax Guide. The hardcover book covers the basics and the 2010 guide covers the latest updates and strategies.

If you're preparing your own tax returns or using a tax preparer who isn't a trader tax expert, then we recommend our annual companion tax return examples guides to learn how to file trader tax returns. We have two GreenTrader tax return examples guides; one for securities traders and another for commodities, futures and forex traders. We also have a companion accounting guide.

For the best value, get Green's 2010 Trader Tax Guide, The Tax Guide for Traders, plus our two examples guides, our accounting guide and a bonus trader tax law guide in our Platinum Package (details below).

Upgrades: If you purchased our (prior) Gold Package after Oct. 15, 2009, you may upgrade to our Platinum Package for $20 more. That will give you Green's 2010 Trader Tax Guide (a $39.95 value), which was not included in the Gold Package. For any questions on upgrades, kindly contact customer support.

Green's 2010 Trader Tax Guide (pdf, 52 full 8x11 pages), by Robert A. Green, CPA.

Our best trader tax guide in years: Packed with new content and tax strategies, pitfalls, guidance, dos and don'ts and tips; a "must read" for our users, clients and customers. It's two times bigger and significantly revised from the 2009 edition and certainly worth the price of a new purchase. This professional PDF guide comes with a password-protected login section for updates — and we expect many during 2010. This guide is a must-have addition to Green's hardcover book The Tax Guide for Traders and the GreenTraderTax annual tax return examples guides.

Cover, table of contents and overview

$39.95

The Tax Guide for Traders (Hardcover; 308 pages), by Robert A. Green,CPA published by McGraw-Hill in 2004 (retail price $59.95). Shipping is free (within 1 business day by priority mail).

Comes with an ebook version too.

Book flyer, Book jacket (text), Book flaps image.

00 (i-xii) FM.pdf
– Table of Contents and Introduction (Why You Need This Book).

See our excellent book reviews in BusinessWeek, SFO magazine, Barron's, and Amazon.

$54.95
Includes shipping, handling, and bonuses


2010 GreenTraderTax Platinum Package*
(most recommended and purchased)

Green's 2010 Trader Tax Guide (PDF file), plus

The Tax Guide for Traders (hardcover book), plus

GreenTraderTax Tax Return Examples Guides (PDF files)
..2010 GTT Guide: 2009 Tax Return Examples for Securities Traders (Individual and Entities) (Web access)**.
.. 2010 GTT Guide: 2009 Tax Return Examples for Commodities, Futures & Forex/Currency Traders (Individual and Entities) (Web access)**.
..GTT Guide: Accounting for trading gains and losses (Web access).

The examples guides contain complete tax return examples; The Tax Guide for Traders hardcover book only has a few key examples. The accounting guide includes worksheet templates, whereas the book only has the formulas. The guides are thousands of pages, the book is 307 pages. This is an excellent package.

* Your login works until December 31, 2010. That gives you plenty of time to prepare your 2009 tax returns due in 2010.

$99.95*

SUMMER PROMOTION: starting June 3 and ending Aug. 31, 2010.

($20 savings)


There are three companion GreenTrader tax return examples guides:
Each companion guide listed below focuses on a different topic, and they are all included in our Platinum Package above. You may also order them a la carte.

2010 GTT Guide: 2009 Tax Return Examples for Securities Traders (Individual and Entities) (Web access)

$49.95

2010 GTT Guide: 2009 Tax Return Examples for Commodities, Futures & Forex/Currency Traders (Individual and Entities) (Web access)

$49.95

GTT Guide: Accounting for trading gains and losses (Web access). Includes GTT's proprietary worksheets and formulas for quick annual accounting, plus all the accounting rules and guidance you need. $39.95


Click here
to read some excellent testimonials.

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Web Access: When you purchase a guide or service, you will receive a login name and password that will grant you immediate access to protected areas on our Web site. The guides and service support areas are in these protected areas, and you will have access through approximately Dec. 31, 2010 — so you have time to complete your 2009 tax returns in 2010. If you have trouble getting your user name and password, see troubleshooting below. You can access prior editions too.

Shipping Methods: We ship The Tax Guide for Traders hardcover book within 2 business days of purchase using USPS.com's Priority Mail Flat Rate service. USPS emails you the tracking number and related information.

Troubleshooting
How to get your user name and password: After purchasing your guide, you will receive a Purchase Confirmation displaying a download icon and link. You also receive an e-mail from GreenTraderTax.com titled "your download files are here." That download link works for three attempts or 72 hours, whichever comes first. The download is a one-page PDF file which includes your user name and password to log in to our Web-based guides. If you are too late in opening your PDF file, contact us by e-mail with a copy of your order and we will e-mail you the user name and password.

If you have trouble logging in consider the following:

You must enter the user name and password exactly as stated (all lower case) and make sure you are trying to log into the correct guide.

You can't log in to our current year guides with a user name and password from an older year guide. If you receive a free upgrade, you need the new login information.

Try cleaning your cache or temporary Internet files, restart your computer and try login again. We are sorry for any inconvenience you may have.

Need Help: If you still have any questions or need help, call our customer service line or e-mail us at support@greencompany.com.

The Tax Guide for Traders Book Review from

AUG. 31, 2004

Are You a Pro?
The Tax Guide for Traders can help you figure out if you qualify as a professional trader

Frequent traders spend all kinds of time and energy figuring out how to make money on lots of little trades. If enough time is not devoted to figuring out the complex taxes involved, they could blow much of their profit. Robert A. Green, a Manhattan accountant who has built a practice specializing in trader tax law, has put all he has learned into a new book, The Tax Guide for Traders, published by The McGraw-Hill Companies (which also owns BusinessWeek Online).

Green gives the kind of advice that accountants less familiar with the world of trading might not offer. For example, he encourages all traders to see if they'll qualify for professional trader tax status, even if they don't end up taking all of the benefits. "Gaining trader tax status is beneficial in all circumstances," he writes.

KEY QUESTIONS. The tricky thing about gaining trader status, Green explains, is that most of the rules were written before online trading really took off. They reflect a black-and-white view of professionals vs. amateurs that doesn't necessarily hold anymore.

Because of the ambiguity, Green suggest traders ask themselves a number of questions before defining their status: Do they seek to take advantage of daily moves in the market? Is their activity substantial? Do they only hold stocks for a short time?

The benefits of professional status include the ability to write off a greater number of trading-related expenses and a reduction in paperwork, Green points out.

The rest of the book contains technical information on commodities, audits, extension, and other issues that might be of greater interest to accountants than to traders. However, the discussion of who qualifies as a trader will make the book worthwhile for those who aren't accountants.

The Tax Guide for Traders
The McGraw-Hill Companies
October, 2004
$55 (retail price)

Amazon.com Editorial Reviews (as of 10/8/04)
The Tax Guide for Traders, by Robert A. Green

Synopsis
Active traders and investors have special needs to consider when it comes to taxes. A wrong decision on trader status, missing an extension for mark-to-market, or allocating net operating losses to the wrong year can end up costing a trader thousands of dollars and headaches with the IRS. A trader wading into the thicket of trader tax law without guidance is more than likely to regret it.

The Tax Guide to Traders from tax expert Robert Green fills this niche nicely, supplying active traders with a complete guide to all the major tax issues facing them. The writing is accessible and very readable (Jeff Ponczak of Active Trader magazine will edit the manuscript before submission). It is not dull accounting type reading, but rather very hands-on, practical material that covers issues traders face every day. The Tax Guide for Traders discusses every key aspect of the tax situation as traders face them.

Topics covered include: How to set up various trading businesses depending on individual requirements: sole proprietor traders, active investors, proprietary traders, hedge fund traders, entity traders, part-time traders; Key differences between state tax law and federal law (including information on the recently passed tax bill); Trader tax status, year-end tax planning, extensions, and filing strategies; Examples of specific tax forms for specific types of traders; How to account for gains and losses with thousands of trades; The importance of "mark-to-market"; What to do in case of an IRS audit; The difference in tax treatment for commodities, securities, and currencies; Deductions, self-employment taxes, expenses, and retirement plans.

The author advocates keeping tax issues as simple as possible. He is an experienced tax expert with insights into how the IRS operates (red flags, important case law, etc.) and offers excellent advice on how to avoid trouble before it starts.

About the Author
Robert A. Green, C.P.A. is the CEO of GreenTraderTax.com, which specializes in tax information and services for traders, investors, and the financial industry.

Product Description:
Taxes play an integral role in trading success, yet no book today clearly and adequately explains the tax issues that are unique to active traders and investors. The Tax Guide for Traders provides traders with practical material on how to minimize the impact taxes have on their hard-won profits.

Written in a hands-on style that appeals to traders as opposed to accountants, it discusses the best ways to set up a trading business, key tax forms and how to use them, tax treatment for specific types of securities, what to do in case of an audit, and much more.



Book Review (January 2005 issue)
by: Elizabeth Thompson

The Tax Guide for Traders

By: Robert A. Green, CPA
Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 2005

Before we know it, the tax season will be upon us. Our W-2s will be handed out at the office or mailed to our homes. For many, this season can be more unbearable than a bitter Midwestern winter, and the IRS, with its ever-changing tax code, does little to warm us up to the whole dreaded process of filing taxes.

For active traders, in particular, tax season can present a daunting task. There is so much more to consider than just total taxable income or standard exemptions. For example, are traders taxed in the same way as investors; does an individual trader file the same as a proprietary trader; what expenses can be deducted; does a securities trader file the same way as a futures trader?

Fortunately, for the 2004 tax year, traders have a new desk reference: The Tax Guide for Traders by Robert A. Green, CPA. Green answers these questions and many others in his new book, and while it is not laid out like reference book – there are no tabs sticking out of the side to help you thumb through it, for example – its use as reference is most certainly the top function of this text. After all, this is a book on taxes, not a late-night page turner. Nor will every trader have to read every page of this book, but it is, nonetheless, a book every active trader should have. Green explains the IRS filing and accounting procedures for securities traders, commodities traders and currency traders, also mindful of newer products such as certain index futures and single stock futures.

Of course, Green covers the basics first, specifically how a trader determines if he is legally considered a trader for tax purposes. For example, to be considered a trader in the eyes of the IRS, one must trade substantially on a regular basis and seek to take advantage of daily price movements, as opposed to long-term investing. He then expounds on these broad definitions to help readers determine their status. In addition to these guidelines, Green reviews the required status for day traders, proprietary traders, part-time traders and even non-U.S. resident traders, leaving no stone unturned when it comes to explaining tax law for every type of trader. And there are many.

After helping readers to determine whether they actually are traders, probably the most interesting and beneficial chapter may be “Entities for Traders.” In this chapter Green explains how traders may form an entity in order to capitalize on tax law – this, no doubt, is what every trader wants to know. As Green says, “A business trader is by default, a sole proprietor. Although this status is good enough to unlock numerous tax breaks, forming an entity can in some cases be the preferred route for traders.” He goes on to explain several entities in detail, such as the husband-and-wife partnership or the single-member LLC. In addition, Green lays out the financial benefits of creating such entities with thorough examples in which he compares the taxes under a sole proprietorship and an entity. The tax savings add up to thousands of dollars, reason enough for traders to further explore and understand the tax code.

Like this chapter, all others have been written with great attention to detail. And again, while every trader may not benefit from every bit of information in this book, Green’s attention to detail is crucial for traders looking to seize opportunities afforded them in the tax code, particularly because not every accountant is well-versed in trader accounting rules.

This book gives traders tax knowledge they need, arming them with information to 1) learn how to file their own returns properly, if they have the wherewithal; or 2) ask the right questions of their accountant when they make the awful trek to his/her office in the dead of winter. While it may not warm traders up to the idea of doing taxes, this book certainly would be an indispensable text on any trader’s bookshelf.



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