Many tax accountants and attorneys follow these old adages: Dont volunteer information to the IRS and The less you explain to the IRS the better - you dont want to draw attention to aggressive tax treatment.

These adages translate into not using tax return footnotes unless absolutely necessary. But this practice is absolutely necessary for traders.

Unlike other taxpayers, traders must deal with confusing and inadequate forms, uncertain classification, and IRS ignorance and prejudice. So whats a trader to do?