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To: sand wedge who wrote (9044)	6/18/1999 1:49:00 PM
From: Alski	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 14427

sandy, Options is weird. You should study the IRS pubs or consult a pro. But here's my take on it (if I got it right). Options are treated as separate securities UNLESS THEY ARE EXERCISED. If you're trading different options with different strikes or different expirations they're all treated and reported separately. If you're making multiple trades with the same strike and expire then the same wash rules would apply. If however, your option is exercised, then you don't separately report the option transactions at all. Instead, you're supposed to just make the appropriate adjustment(s) to your basis in the underlying. That's why your broker isn't required to report options on your 1099's There are two other caveats I'm aware of but don't claim to understand too well. If you short an option (sell a covered call for example) and then close it out without it being exercised, it is ALWAYS a short term gain, even if it was a leap you held short (covered or not) longer than a year. There's also some screwball rule about closing option positions (or outright shorts) in January that is intended to eliminate the trick of using options/shorts to defer taxes a year. I think in this case you just have to report the transaction in the previous year. The reason and intent for the rule is obvious, the actual rule isn't. FWIW...Alski