Code & Regulations
Trading Tax Authority
First off, what is the authority for the positions espoused on this website?
The only authority for a tax position has to be the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") and Regulations ("Regs") in addition to Court Cases.
What about IRS Publications?
Interestingly enough, IRS Publications are NOT authoritative for tax return positions. In Tax Court Summary Opinion 2014-14, the Tax Court states, regarding the deductibility of a payment to a divorced spouse as alimony:
The [IRS] publication appears to accurately portray the requirements of [IRC] section 71(b)(1) as discussed above. However, even if that were not the case, we note that informal IRS publications are not authoritative sources of Federal tax law; rather, applicable statutes, regulations, and judicial decisions constitute the authoritative sources of law that inform our [Tax Court] decisions.
With that in mind, what are the tax considerations covered on this website and in what authoritative reference is guidance provided?
Tax References
Each of the following Code sections have corresponding sections in the Regulations, typically designated as Reg Sec 1.###, ie, IRC Sec 475 corresponds to Reg Sec 1.475
Stocks and options are capital assets - IRC Sec 1221
except when they are not - according to IRS Publication 550 options are personal property - as opposed to a capital asset - when applying the straddle rules.
Holding period of capital assets - IRC Sec 1223
Wash sales on losses from the sale of securities - IRC Sec 1091
Straddles or offsetting positions - IRC Sec 1092
Mark to market accounting election - IRC Sec 475
Mark to market securities - IRC Sec 1256
Expenses related to traders - IRC Sec 162
Expenses related to investors - IRC Sec 212
Interest and dividends are income - IRC Sec 61
Net Investment Income - IRC Sec 1411(c)