My only income (or loss) this Yr is from trading stocks. (4-5 a Mo) what will I have to know & do at Tax Time?

Answer 1

You will have to file a return if the gross proceeds of you stock sales exceed the filing requirements in pub 501. You will compute your profit or loss on schedule D. If you have been trading most likely all will be short term gains or losses taxed at the ordinary rate. Your broker will probably give you the basis and sale prices on the 1099 they give you at the end of the year. If they don't, you can get this info by asking them for it.
If you are careful you can do this yourself. If it were me I would buy one of the tax programs on the market. If you have any doubts as to how to report this see a professional.

Answer 2

Your broker will give you 1099 showing all your stock sales in a year. Or it will be available online.

On the broker site, you can also see your total profit and loss from Jan 1 to Dec. 31. You can also see all your account statements that show all your stock purchases and sales.
Use this information to complete schedule D (Form 1040).

If you use a software, then the software will automatically download all the stock sale information from the broker site in your return (yes you will enter your user name and password). Then you can enter the remaining information.

Answer 3

You will need to know the purchase and sale price of every stock you sold. If you don't have good records, now would be a good time to start gathering the necessary information.

You claim stock gains and losses on Schedule D. This can be a bit tricky for a newbie so it may be worth getting some professional assistance to get you started.

Answer 4

you may need a professional advisor. if this activity at this level is new for you, you may want to elect to be taxed as if you are in the business of trading. you'll want the advisor to lay out the choices and ramifications of each in this matter.