New Trader needing a little help

hey Guys, Im Aaron and im a new trader i have been trading now for about a year and a half on a dummy account with Oanda iv started off with 500.00 and and as of today i have a little over 5,000.00 in the make believe bank … And next year im going to start trading with a live account… my question is with me being a [B]NEW[/B] trader would it be wise to opt into the 988 or the 1256 before i start trading and the next question is when do i fill out everything for the IRS iv heard that its in Sept and then someone told me that its in Dec… thanks guys

My grandfather use to say, “Remember when you need a brick layer, don’t ask a donut maker.” His point being when you need advice go to someone who is qualified to give you advice on what you need. As you know a lot of tax professionals have a hard time understanding tax issues. If you’re going live especially where the IRS is, before you open your account go see a licensed accountant in the state where you live to lay it out for you. It will be money well spent. Tax rules in the US (especially) come in 3 colors. Black, White and Grey. Bad advice for the grey area is what gets you fines and or jail.