The two types of forex filings conflict but, at most accounting firms you will be subject to 988 contracts if you are a spot trader and 1256 contracts if you are a futures trader. The key factor is talking with your accountant before investing. Once you begin trading you cannot switch from 988 to 1256 or vice versa.Most traders will anticipate net gains (why else trade?) so they will want to elect out of their 988 status and in to 1256 status. To opt out of a 988 status you need to make an internal note in your books as well as file with your accountant. This complication intensifies if you trade stocks as well as currencies. Equity transactions are taxed differently and you may not be able to elect 988 or 1256 contracts, depending on your status.SEE: Benefits Abound For Active Traders Who Incorporate
Keeping Track: Your Performance RecordRather than rely on your brokerage statements, a more accurate and tax-friendly way of keeping track of profit/loss is through your performance record. This is an IRS-approved formula for record keeping:
- Subtract your beginning assets from your end assets (net)
- Subtract cash deposits (to your accounts) and add withdrawals (from your accounts)
- Subtract income from interest and add interest paid
- Add other trading expenses
The performance record formula will give you a more accurate depiction of your profit/loss ratio and will make year-end filing easier for you and your accountant. SEE: Top 4 Things Successful Forex Traders DoThings to RememberWhen it comes to forex taxation there are a few things you will want to keep in mind, including:
- Deadlines for filing: In most cases, you are required to elect a type of tax situation by January 1. If you are a new trader, you can make this decision before your first trade - whether this is in January 1 or December 31. It is also worth noting that you can change your status mid-year, but only with IRS approval.
- Detailed record keeping: Keeping good records (and backups) can save you time when tax season approaches. This will give you more time to trade and less time to prepare taxes.
- Importance of paying: Some traders try to "beat the system" and earn a full or part-time income trading forex without paying taxes. Since over-the-counter trading is not registered with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) some traders think they can get away with it. Not only is this unethical, but the IRS will catch up eventually and tax avoidance fees will trump any taxes you owed.
The Bottom LineTrading forex is all about capitalizing on opportunities and increasing profit margins so a wise investor will do the same when it comes to taxes. Taking the time to file correctly can save you hundreds if not thousands in taxes, making it a transaction that's well worth the time.
For beginner forex traders, the goal is simply to make successful trades. In a market where profits - and losses - can be realized in the blink of an eye, many investors get involved to "try their hand" before thinking long term. However, whether you are planning on making forex a career path or are interested in seeing how your strategy pans out, there are tremendous tax benefits you should consider before your first trade.SEE: Forex Walkthrough While trading forex can be a confusing field to master, filing taxes in the U.S. for your profit/loss ratio can be reminiscent of the Wild West. Here is a break down of what you should know.For Options and Futures InvestorsFor anyone who wants to get started in forex options and/or futures are grouped in what are known as IRC 1256 contracts. These IRS-sanctioned contracts mean traders get a lower 60/40 tax consideration. What this means is 60% of gains or losses are counted as long-term capital gains/losses and the remaining 40% as short term. The two main benefits of this tax treatment are: Time Many forex futures/options traders make several transactions per day. Of these trades, up to 60% can be counted as long-term capital gains/losses. Tax Rate When trading stocks (held less than one year), investors are taxed at the 35% short-term rate. When trading futures or options, investors are taxed at a 23% rate (calculated as 60% long-term times 15% max rate plus 40% short-term rate times 35% max rate).
For Over-the-Counter (OTC) InvestorsMost spot traders are taxed according to IRC 988 contracts. These contracts are for foreign exchange transactions settled within two days, making them open to ordinary gains and losses as reported to the IRS. If you trade spot forex you will likely automatically be grouped in this category.The main benefit of this tax treatment is loss protection. If you experience net losses through your year-end trading, being categorized as a "988 trader" serves as a large benefit. As in the 1256 contract, you can count all of your losses as "ordinary losses" instead of just the first $3,000. Comparing the TwoIRC 988 contracts are simpler than IRC 1256 contracts in that the tax rate remains constant for both gains and losses - an ideal situation for losses. 1256 contracts, while more complex, offer more savings for a trader with net gains - 12% more. The most significant difference between the two is that of anticipated gains and losses. The Solution: Choosing Your Category CarefullyNow comes the tricky part: deciding how to file taxes for your situation. What makes foreign-exchange filing confusing is that while options/futures and OTC are grouped separately, you as the investor can pick either a 1256 or 988 contract. The tricky part is that you have to decide before January 1 of the trading year.
This may be less of a problem for you if you are trading on an intraday basis, because the correlation is weaker on shorter time frames. Just take a look at the chart in Figure 2, showing one-week's worth of hourly bars. The correlation, though still strong, oscillates from negative 64% to negative 85%. The reason for this variance is the possible delayed effect of one currency pair on the other. More often than not, the EUR/USD marginally leads the price in USD/CHF, because it tends to be the more liquid currency pair. Also, liquidity in USD/CHF can dry up sometimes in the second half of the U.S.session, when European traders exit the market, which means that some moves can be exacerbated.
Why Arbitrage Does Not WorkNevertheless, with such strong correlation, you will often hear novice traders say that they canhedge one currency pair with the other and capture the pure interest spread. What they are talking about is the interest rate differential between the two currency pairs. For example, the EUR/USD had an interest rate spread of negative 2.50%, with the eurozone yielding 2.50% and the U.S. yielding 5%. This meant that if you were long the EUR, you would earn 2.50% interest per year, while paying 5% interest on the U.S. dollar short. By contrast, the interest rate spread between the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc, which yields 1.25%, is positive 3.75%.
As a result, many new traders will ask why they cannot just go long the EUR/USD and pay 2.50% interest and long USD/CHF to earn 3.75% interest, netting a neat 1.25% interest with zero risk. This may seem like a lot of work to you for a mere 1.25%, but bear in mind that extreme leverage in the FX market can, in some cases, be upwards of 100 times capital. Therefore, even a conservative 10 times capital turns the 1.25% to 12.5% per year. The general assumption is that leverage is risky, but in this case, novices will argue that it is not, because you are perfectly hedged. Unfortunately, there is no free lunch in any market, so although it may seem like this may work out, it doesn't. The key lies in the differing pip values between the two currency pairs and the fact that just because the EUR/USD moves one point, that does not mean that USD/CHF will move one point too.Differing Pip ValuesThe EUR/USD and USD/CHF have different point or pip values, which means that each tick in each currency is worth different dollar amounts. For example, the EUR/USD has a point value of US$10 [((.0001/1.2795) x 100,000) x 1.2795], while USD/CHF has a pip value of $8.20 [(.0001/1.2195) x 100,000]. Therefore, when these two pairs move in opposite directions, they are not necessarily doing so to the same degree. The best way to get rid of the misconceptions that some traders may have about possible arbitrage opportunities, is to look at examples of monthly returns for the 12 months of the previous year. Let's say that we went long both the EUR/USD and USD/CHF. The table in Figure 3 shows the price at the beginning of the month and at the end of the month. The difference represents the number of points earned or lost. The dollar value is the number of points multiplied by the value of each point ($10 in the case of the EUR/USD and $8.20 in the case of USD/CHF). "Interest income" is the amount of interest earned or paid per month, according to the FXCM trading station at the time of publication, and the "sum" is the dollar value earned plus the interest income.
If you're interested in getting into the forex market, there is one relationship that you must be aware of before you even start trading: the relationship between the euro and the Swiss franc currency pairs, a correlation too strong to be ignored. In the article Using Currency Correlations To Your Advantage, we see that the correlation between these two currency pairs can be upwards of negative 95%. This is known as an inverse relationship, which means that, generally speaking, when the EUR/USD (euro/U.S. dollar) rallies, the USD/CHF (U.S. dollar/Swiss franc) sells off the majority of the time and vice versa.When you're dealing with two separate and distinct financial instruments, a 95% correlation is as close to perfection as you can hope for. In this article we explain what causes this relationship, what it means for trading, how the correlation differs on an intraday basis and when such a strong relationship can decouple. Read on and you'll also find out why, contrary to popular belief, arbitragingthe two currencies to earn the interest rate differential, does not work.Where Does This Relationship Come From? Over the long term, most currencies that trade against the U.S. dollar have an above 50%correlation. This is the case because the U.S. dollar is a dominant currency that is involved in 90% of all currency transactions. Furthermore, the U.S. economy is the largest in the world, which means that its health has an impact on the health of many other nations. Although the strong relationship between the EUR/USD and USD/CHF is partially due to the common dollar factor in the two currency pairs, the fact that the relationship is far stronger than that of other currency pairs, stems from the close ties between the eurozone and Switzerland. As a country surrounded by other members of the eurozone, Switzerland has very close political and economic ties with its larger neighbors. The close economic relationship began with the free trade agreement established back in 1972 and was then followed by more than 100 bilateral agreements. These agreements have allowed the free flow of Swiss citizens into the workforce of the European Union (EU) and the gradual opening of the Swiss labor market to citizens of the EU. The two economies are very intimately linked. Therefore, if the eurozone contracts, Switzerland will feel the ripple effects. What Does This Mean for Trading?
When it comes to trading, the near mirror images of these two currency pairs, as seen in Figure 1, tell us that if we are long EUR/USD and long USD/CHF, we essentially have two closely offsettingpositions or basically, EUR/CHF. Meanwhile, if we are long one and short the other, we are actually doubling up on the same position, even though it may seem like two separate trades. This is very important to understand for proper risk management, because if something goes wrong when we are short one currency pair and long the other, losses can easily be compounded.
Despite the nation's recent entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), there are still somesignificant investment risks in Russia; corruption and political will are the two biggest. Bribes and organized crime infiltrating legitimate businesses remain standard practices. According to a report by the Information Science for Democracy Foundation, the average amount of petty bribe in the Russian Federation has increased steadily in the last 10 years. Back in 2001, it was roughly 1,817 rubles. By the time 2010 rolled around, it had grown to 5,285 rubles and represented 93% of an average worker's salary.Then there is the national government to contend with. Voicing an opinion that conflicts with President Vladimir Putin's wishes could lead to your business or investments being seized as well as a potential prison sentence. Just ask Mikhail Khodorovsky, former Chairman and CEO of Russian oil giant Yukos, who was convicted of fraud in 2005 for reasons that are believed to be politically motivated.LATAM's Commodity King
While outright corruption isn't as big of a problem for Brazil as it is for Russia, the government does have a hand in creating risks for investors that stem from its "protectionist" attitude. The country now has the second-highest number of protectionist measures in Latin America, after Argentina. This includes rules to favor local products, high tariffs on imported goods, tax breaks to encourage domestic production and limiting the access of foreign investors to strategic natural resource assets. For example, investors wanting to tap the nation's vast oil wealth must partner with state-owned energy giant Petrobras. Overall, these policies could derail some investment returns if Brazil decides to go one step further and nationalize various assets.Asia's Bureaucratic Nightmare
With a democracy as large as India's, you would expect there to be some red tape when it comes to successful investment. However, the nation's bureaucracy has been called the "most stifling in the world." Starting a business in India is incredibly hard, as the local and national governments generally have a hand in the commercial markets. Likewise, enforcing contracts can be impossible, especially when there is a propensity for business partners to enter into undeclared third-party transactions. The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, a Hong Kong-based think tank, estimates that India's bureaucratic system will prevent it from matching the growth rates of other rival nations.The Bottom Line
The BRICs offer much in the way of portfolio and economic growth, however, there are some pretty big risks for individual investors as well. Understanding these risks is key to navigating these emerging giants successfully.
Technically Complex, Fundamentally Simple
Established as far back as 1882, the Bank of Japan serves as the central bank to the world's second largest economy. It governs monetary policy as well as currency issuance, money market operations and data/economic analysis. The main Monetary Policy Board tends to work toward economic stability, constantly exchanging views with the reigning administration, while simultaneously working toward its own independence and transparency. Meeting 12-14 times a year, the governor leads a team of nine policy members, including two appointed deputy governors.
The Japanese yen (JPY) tends to trade under the identity of a carry trade component. Offering a low interest rate, the currency is pitted against higher-yielding currencies, especially the New Zealand and Australian dollars and the British pound. As a result, the underlying tends to be very erratic, pushing FX traders to take technical perspectives on a longer-term basis. Average daily ranges are in the region of 30-40 pips, with extremes as high as 150 pips. To trade this currency with a little bit of a bite, focus on the crossover of London and U.S. hours (6am - 11am EST).4. British Pound (GBP)Central Bank: Bank of England (BoE)Current Interest Rate: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/The Queen's Currency
As the main governing body in the United Kingdom, the Bank of England serves as the monetary equivalent of the Federal Reserve System. In the same fashion, the governing body establishes a committee headed by the governor of the bank. Made up of nine members, the committee includes four external participants (appointed by the Chancellor of Exchequer), a chief economist, director of market operations, committee chief economist and two deputy governors.
Meeting every month of the year, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decides on interest rates and broader monetary policy, with primary considerations of total price stability in the economy. As such, the MPC also has a benchmark of consumer price inflation set at 2%. If this benchmark is compromised, the governor has the responsibility to notify the Chancellor of Exchequer through a letter, one of which came in 2007 as the U.K. CPI rose sharply to 3.1%. The release of this letter tends to be a harbinger to markets, as it increases the probability of contractionary monetary policy.
A little bit more volatile than the euro, the British pound (GBP, also sometimes referred to as "pound sterling" or "cable") tends to trade a wider range through the day. With swings that can encompass 100-150 pips, it isn't unusual to see the pound trade as narrowly as 20 pips. Swings in notable cross currencies tend to give this major a volatile nature, with traders focusing on pairs like the British pound/Japanese yen and the British pound/Swiss franc. As a result, the currency can be seen as most volatile through both London and U.S. sessions, with minimal movements during Asian hours (5pm - 1am EST).
