The above is helpful and appreciated. I'm hoping to see an example of a case that shows where the line is drawn, on both sides of the line. (In Endicott expenses were denied. There's likely another case where expenses were approved.) In other words, where an amount (6 figures) was allocated for active trading, and traded for profit, maybe sometimes with a gain, and other times with a loss. A trading business should have deductions for active research expense such as that conducted at a professional convention. That includes travel. I have done well in the stock market with information discovered at a convention 1000 miles away. At the convention I see others who buy products at wholesale, sell them at a profit or loss, and deduct the convention expenses (among other expenses) on their taxes. I prefer trading stocks to buying and selling merchandise.
