Investor or Trader?

[Doony]

Hello--my income is all investment-based. Short-term trading, mostly, but also significant dividends. About half / half after doing tax loss harvesting in 2023.

I think being an investor is easier / cleaner / less complicated than being a trader. I don't really want to get into a back and forth with IRS proving I am a trader. If I say that I am an investor, and report my gains losses on Schedule D, can I still write off business expenses onSchedule C? 

Or can I write off business expenses only as a trader? (Things such as subscriptions, trading software, networking, education, etc--not home office).

Thank you in advance.

[tagteam]

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@Doony wrote:

If I say that I am an investor, and report my gains losses on Schedule D, can I still write off business expenses onSchedule C? 

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No. 

See https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc429