ChadK

"Most" people at TDA have $0 ticket charge and only pay a per contract fee. Many (with a fair amount of trading volume history) pay $0.75/contract or less.

True. There are many options (no pun intended) and one size does not fit all. I have accounts at tastyworks and Tradier (plus ONE) as well. I have tried many of others over the last decade plus, but for me, TOS is my choice and is worth the potential extra cost. (I didn't like the TOS comms for the very low priced SO trades...I use Tradier for that. But the bulk of my trading is not 20 cent spreads, so I use TOS.)

I pay 0.01 to 0.02 per contract in "Misc Fees" at TOS. This is on equity options or index options, on top of my 0.75 rate. Regarding regular equity stock trades, I was able to negotiate (a long while ago) down to 0.01 per share, $1.00 minimum, $6.95 max. Why would someone stay at TOS vs IB even if they had to negotiate their rate? Customer service is quite good (when needed), I prefer their trading platform much more than IB's, and their platform worked behind my company firewall whereas IB's didn't (now they both don't work), and TOS's mobile app is pretty good too.

I'm not able to model it at the moment, but wouldn't portfolio margin be a significant relief, especially at TDA? Or you're looking for non-PM methods?

I think you'll find the answer is no. That's why I have used TradeLog for years. (http://www.tradelogsoftware.com/) Started when broker's 1099 reporting was all messed up and have now continued seeing how the 1256 stuff isn't quite right either. I import all trades, from all of my brokers, into TradeLog, it properly figures out any wash sales, even across brokers, and properly puts trades into 1256 category. I then make PDFs or printouts and include those figures, not the 1099-B figures. I also include a note saying that the 1099-B's are incorrect. The good news is that the sum of reported gains (1256 and non-1256) match up between my broker and me. So I'm not hiding any sales...I'm just reclassifying some of the trades as 1256. As mentioned, I've done this for 10 years now without an audit. The majority of my gains are RUT and SPX options, and there's no question that those are 1256. So, if they do ever decide to audit me on GLD, SLV, OIH, etc, then the impact will be minimal if they overturn my 1256 logic.

Also, please note that I said OPTIONS on these vehicles. The actual ETFs are to be treated like buying and selling stock.

From the IRS Form 6781 instructions (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f6781.pdf): Section 1256 Contract A section 1256 contract is any: Regulated futures contract, Foreign currency contract, Nonequity option, Dealer equity option, or Dealer securities futures contract. As mentioned, different people, different institutions, different trader tax preparers, have different viewpoints on the definition. One can argue that FXE is a Foreign currency contract. One can argue that VIX, VXX, GLD, SLV, USO and OIH are nonequity options. I'm not forcing any one definition down anyone's throat, but am trying to make others aware. I've been submitting my taxes for over 10 years this way, with zero audits. Your mileage may vary. Consult your (trader) tax professional (I previously did...I hired Green Trader Tax. Most other tax professionals aren't very knowledgeable in this area.

Here's where things "diverge" a bit. Some brokers have different viewpoints of what constitutes a 1256 contract. Several of the option vehicles we use at SO are 1256, or "could be" 1256, depending upon who's doing the defining. A small sampling from my 2017 trading, which may also be things you traded: VIX, VXX, GLD, SLV, FXE, USO, OIH (and of course RUT and SPX). I have 1099's from both TDAmeritrade and Apex (Tradier, TastyTrade), and each of them may or may not have included all of those contracts listed previously. (They usually have RUT and SPX, but the others are questionable.) You can blindly just use your 1099's and accept what it says, but you could be leaving tax money on the table. For those of you not familiar with 1256, the short summary is that all gains and losses are treated as 40% short-term gains, and 60% long-term gains, regardless of the holding period. Since most of our trades are well under 1 year long, this is a significant savings in the tax bill. For those in the 28% marginal tax bracket, this means your 1256 effective tax rate is 20.2% instead of 28%. (More savings in you're in a higher tax bracket.) For more information, Google "1256 contracts".

If there's one thing I'm getting from this thread is that everyone has different opinions on what's usuable, what's tolerable, and what's unacceptable. I'd suggest that you see if you can get a short trial of either ONE or TradeHawk, and see for yourself.

In the configuration tab, choose "tradier" as the live feed. Model the trade in ONE. Hit the "Commit Trade" button. Adjust the price, order type, TIF if desired. At the bottom left of that window, there's a --> tradier button. I click the dropdown arrow on that button and select "Send without commit". A login window may or may not show for your tradier account. Enter credentials. If opening a new trade, click the "preview" button (it's Tradier's form of error checking), then hit Send. If the trade fills, go back into ONE, click "Commit Trade", (your trade will still be modeled) adjust the price to match the fill, then click the Save button to save the trade in ONE.

You see if you are filled, change the limit price, or cancel the order via the Tradier web interface. To roll, adjust the trade, or enter a closing order, I use ONE to send the order to Tradier, but then have to modify the side appropriately, as all of the orders come in as "to open". If you are closing any/all legs, you need to modify the leg(s) in the Tradier web interface after you sent the order to it from ONE.

What do you mean by "manage"? I use ONE and Tradier. I don't need/use Trend/Tradehawk to enable me to trade.

Yes, this was already discussed. Some of us use Tradelog, and you can download your trades via the Apex Clearing website and import into Tradelog.

Not sure what's going on. Works for me. When you set up a new account in TradeLog, did you select "Apex Clearing" as the import filter? I just did another import right now to confirm it's still working, and it is.

If you have any open positions, your account value will be lower than you think. They do not use "mid" prices to value your account, but rather something more like market prices, ie. worst prices for sell, worse prices to cover.