Going offshore to escape the CFTC

Yes, I am and I really like FinFX, as I’ve mentioned.

Nice, i’m glad i found someone US who actually has an account with them, gives me a bit of peace of mind.

I was wondering how your experience was in opening an account with them. They didn’t give you any issue at all as long you provided that letter of non-solicitation right?

Also, i presume that you know then that this will require an FBAR report, something of which i know of but have no experience with. Have you already been with them long enough to file something of the sort?

Thanks again for the prompt reply.

I did not even need to provide them with any non-solicitation letter.

The US CFTC rules do not prohibit the US customers from using the services of foreign brokers. It’s unregistered foreign brokers that are prohibited from servicing the US customers, so the burden is on them - not on us, the customers.

Thank you! I tried to tell people on forums over a year ago what was happening and I got laughed at - no one is laughing now. Everyday we lose just a little more freedom in this country. Nazi Germany didn’t happen over night. Germany actually had elections before the Nazis slowly took over. I see so many similarities happening in the US now. Crazy? The Gestapo could drag anyone in and torture and kill them if they deemed them a threat. Not happening here? Think again. Just ask anyone - born US citizens - who were dragged to Gitmo and tortured just because they had a Muslim name. Individual freedom in the US is gone. The American Dream is gone. How on earth did hedging in Forex affect anyone at all except the trader? They took that away because it was just too much freedom. How on earth did higher leverage affect anyone except the trader? Too much individual freedom so they took that away. Forex trading period - too much freedom of choice to the stock market - can’t have that freedom so soon it will be gone too. I am trying to figure out some way to move to a free country. It’s very ironic given who we fought the Revolutionary War with and why - for freedom - and now that very country is where, if we could, move to so we could have freedom once again. I hope that when the suits at the CFTC die, that in the after life they run into George Washington and Paul Revere who are waiting to stick red hot pokers in them in very uncomfortable places.

I hope that doesn’t happen. I used to talk with a trader in the UK and asked her if she was worried that the Gestapo CFTC could influence trading in the UK and she said no way. She said the Brits love their trading and the government knows it and wouldn’t mess with that or there would be a revolution. Viva La UK!!! Where freedom still rings.

You are so right. Freedom is gone in the US. Elections are just pathetic attempts by the government to give people false hope that they still have freedom and a say in the government. Sadly, most people buy into it like little sheep. It doesn’t matter who is elected because they are all part of the machine - it doesn’t matter. They can vote out of office whoever is in there and it makes them feel better, but what they don’t realize is that the idiot drone they vote in is still part of the machine whether he/she/it is a democrat or republican - it doesn’t matter. Case in point - we didn’t get to vote on whether we went into Iraq so we could spend billions and billions of our hard earn much needed at home cash. As the Soup Nazi would say - “No Freedom For You!”

I use Traders way for ECN trading but do think they offer retail trading as well. I think I came across some info online, listing out brokerages which are open to all. Hey, everyone has their own preferences, whether it is a “I hate weasels who cram 50:1 down my throat” to any thing else under the sun.
But so far, its working fine and you may want to check it out and see if they offer retail trading…

Hello folks,

This question is directed to bravehoststamps and others who are residents of the US and are using offshore accounts, i have no experience with this, so please be patient and feel free to chime in if you already have experience with this:

Has anyone actually filed an FBAR yet?

One of the conditions of the FBAR is that if you have money offshore in one or multiple accounts with the aggregate sum equaling or surpassing $10,000, then you have to fil an FBAR— what if you open an account with an offshore broker with a lesser amount that won’t equal or surpass this sum throughout the duration of the year? Does that still require an FBAR?

And if you do file an FBAR, will it also be appear in your regular tax form, as in it is repetitive, or can it just be file by itself without having to do anything with your regulat tax forms?

I apologize if these questions seem uninformed, but i haven’t really found alot of substantial info on it, and i hope that my questions can also help others who are looking into offshore brokers but have no experience with filing these forms.

Thanks everyone.

This article will point you toward the answers you need —

Handling New IRS Foreign Reporting Requirements Without Doing Jail Time - Forbes

For links to resources specifically on the FBAR, see page 5 of the article.

Thank you very much Clint. This should prove very useful, not only to me, but to anyone else who may wish to keep their leverage options, and who cherish even moreso their freedom.

It’s much appreciated.

I have filed FBAR’s for years. It is not hard and if you make any mistakes such as leaving out answers to some questions they send a routine follow-up letter asking you for the missing details. Very simple.

Under $10,000 cumulative you do not have to file it.

It has nothing to do with 1040. The FBAR is not a tax form - it is a just list of your foreign accounts.

Completely separately, you still have to report your worldwide income (including from foreign accounts) on your 1040 and pay tax on it.

They are also adding more questions to the 1040 asking if you have foreign bank accounts.

Really all of this is just to raise revenue by catching hiding income in accounts abroad (but you have to file it regardless).

Thank you for sharing your knowledge on this matter, comintel.

However, that also brings to mind the question- more likely than not, your foreign broker won’t be sending you a tax form, so how do you keeo track of your profits? Is some kind of record provided to you by your foreign broker ( in that case, i think you would just save an online version of all your transactions made via trading, however, if you are a frequent trader like me, that would amount to multiples of pages)…or do you just keep track of it using the proverbial and hence more cumbersome pen and paper? This is an honest question.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this matter again.

I have no problem reporting foreign accounts. Since the FBAR has so much detailed information I would be worried you are giving the CFTC the exact information they need to put pressure on a foreign broker. That is unless the IRS keeps that information to themselves.

I found this article that implies that the CFTC is headed for some trouble but I can’t post the link yet.
Hopefully we will see more and more of this. Plus I have voiced my support of HR 87 which I think we all should do.

CFTC and SEC facing legal anxiety over cost-benefit analyses - Risk.net

Now I can post it. :5:

I checked out the link. However, it requires you to join the site, or at the very least, sign up for a trial account.

But if it has anything to do with finally reigning in the CFTC’s far-reaching and meddling hands, then it’s welcome news for us and for freedom and liberty indeed.

I tried going back to it and I can’t see it either. Sorry, it must have been view once free type of deal. Anyways along with the shareholder issues it seems that the restrictions on position sizes is also being targeted. I think in time we will see more litigation on the Dodd-Frank act.

Well, that’s certainly welcome news. That ridiculous Dodd-Frank Bill and the CFTC, has disturbed my trading plans, having me leave my domestic broker which i’ve been with for almost 3 years, and has forced me into doing due diligence on off-shore brokers since July of this year. Hence, why i, and others have found myself on this specific thread.

But as it seems, what you speak of is welcome news indeed.

Yes forex taxation is already complicated even with a U.S. broker, with various elections available.

Some foreign brokers do not send statements and in that case one is just going to have to work off whatever statements or confirmations they do provide.

I would be sure to run full detail reports and save the detailed results off carefully and back them up so that you have records even if the broker no longer retains them or goes out of business or whatever.

I can’t believe I made it to page 110! Thank you all for your hard work on this thread.

However, I am still left confused. Has something changed with foreign forex brokers such that more are now willing to ignore the CFTC regulations? I just signed up yesterday for TDFX for a demo account and their site lists features for U.S. customers funding their account, etc.

Any chance this might happen for DukasCopy anytime soon? I demo’ed with them a year or two ago, liked what I saw, like the reputation, and was sorely disappointed to see that they are currently not accepting US customers, except large players.

Also, I would like to request a bit of assistance getting off the ground with trading. Should I ask here, or in another thread? I basically just want to be able to shoot a few questions back and forth, get some help understanding my limitations based on my situation, and some solid advice on how to make this profitable. I am not greedy, and I am fine with averaging $50 or less profit a day (is this what ‘scalping’ is, if you are not working with a significant account size?), but I also don’t want to burn through my account by not taking on enough risk.

Thanks in advance. Not to exclude anyone who has experience to bring to bear on these questions, but I’ve been really impressed in this thread by Clint and ‘bravehost’.

sean