Quill,
As someone who has always done his own taxes, and who can’t file for ‘trader status’, because the bulk of my income isn’t from short-term trades, let me disagree.
But I would point out, as someone who does hundreds of trades per year, that where those trades are done can make a huge difference due to which brokers enable TAX Cut (or similar) to import the 1099’s and which don’t. Also, lately, I’ve taken to doing the bulk of my of my trading in an IRA, just so I won’t have to file on those transactions.
Lastly, if someone were to want to file as a 'trader and were able to do so, then I’d fully agree. He/she should have their taxes prepared by someone who is used to filing taxes for traders. Else, the IRS is going to eat them alive if they try to file by themselves. Linked is a firm that many traders use.