# Professional investor/trader status **URL:** https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/professional-investor-trader-status/1328 **Category:** Taxes **Created:** [October 8, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/professional-investor-trader-status/1328 "2018-10-08T00:11:11Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 212
### Author: ![anon17469660](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/13edae/32.png) [@anon17469660](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/anon17469660) #### Post date: [January 6, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/professional-investor-trader-status/1328/212 "2024-01-06T16:15:12Z")
> [@Tony1337](#): > > How is the 6 month rule applied when holding securities? > > I’m specifically thinking about the following scenario: > > I put in 10k into an etf and then dca 1k over the next year, now I want to sell it: > > - Can I sell all of it without violating the rule? By “the rule” I assume you mean one of the criteria cited in the [2012 _Kreisschreiben_](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiaprTy7sGDAxUUgv0HHY-TBsgQFnoECBAQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.estv.admin.ch%2Fdam%2Festv%2Fde%2Fdokumente%2Fdbst%2Fkreisschreiben%2F2004%2F1-036-D-2012.pdf.download.pdf%2F1-036-D-2012.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3Qxs2lrYW2kkGhGgwvWlhh&opi=89978449) about potentially being classified as a professional trader if selling securities held for less than 6 months? I discussed this as recently as this week with a very seasoned colleague of mine whose father happened to be a tax advisor for many decades. According to this colleague, the _Steuerkommissär_ looks at the _ **collective** _ of your activities to decide whether this is a self-employed task/activity to generate income. The _Steuerkommissär_ will use the criteria cited but its at their discretion to come to a conclusion from an _overall_ impression. This colleague also guesses that an occational violation of a criteria will be tolerated as long as it’s not evident that you are trying to create income with a violation … and as long as the _Steuerkommissär_ doesn’t have a bad day. 😉 This colleague also knows from his father, the tax advisor, that most _Steuerkommissäre_ can be reasoned with. If still in doubt I would recommend that you talk to the tax authority person handling your taxes (they’re either listed on your previous tax bill or you can call the tax authority and they’ll connect you with “your” person or will give you a direct number. This person is not the _Steuerkommissär_ but they will be able to give you guidance, and I’m pretty sure if _they_ are in doubt they will doublecheck with an actual _Steuerkommissär_. To add a tad of personal experience color: I was audited last year by a _Steuerkommisär_ for my 2022 tax returns.\* The _Steuerkommissär_ looked in very much detail at all of my trading activities (trades, dividends, etc) and I know I have violated rule 5 (roughly: “derivatives, **especially** options, can only be used as hedges of existing positions”) as since 2020 I do _Stillhaltergeschäfte_ (I have sold Puts both to generate income\*\* as well as to buy stakes in companies). I do try to have only a few Puts on my year end statements to fly below the radar, but I have had short Puts that were clearly not for hedging my positions. Despite those evident violations of rule 5, the _Steuerkommissär_ had no complaints about this. * * * \* Most likely triggered as I (truly) forgot to declare an _unverteilte Erbschaft_ of my wife. \*\* Slightly orthogonal to the question about whether this makes you a professional investor: as I have also learned very recently on a different thread on this forum, by selling Puts I have not generated income, I’ve only made capital gains. Works for me. --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/professional-investor-trader-status/1328)._