I am not a tax expert, but you should read this: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc429 https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc429 If you use one of the various mark-to

I am not a tax expert, but you should read this: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc429 https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc429 If you use one of the various mark-to-market rules, then you may well “only pay taxes on your overall annual trading profits”, but you pay it every year on unrealized gains too. Choose your poison.