February 25th, 2010Optionsxpress Gainskeeper Data Extract Broken
If you have an Optionsxpress brokerage account, and you use Gainskeeper software you are in for a nice surprise just in time for tax season. There are reports of many customers data feeds completely broken at Optionsxpress. Some Gainskeeper reports are coming up completely empty, some of them have completely irrelevant data. One Optionsxpress customer reported to Geldpress that his case with Optionsxpress has been opened for over a week with no update and no resolution. Optionsxpress is reportedly passing the buck – telling customers that the problem is with the Gainskeeper platform. They do admit that it is affecting “many” accounts, but give no estimate for the time to resolve, stating only that it is a high priority. On the Optionsxpress Gainskeeper page, there is a general message that states “Please Note – Gainskeeper has identified a problem with their tax software for portfolios with options expiring in 2010. This issue will be resolved shortly.“ There is however, no mention, of the general problems with the Gainskeeper feed – irrelevant and mysterious data showing up in individual Gainskeeper tax reports.
Optionsxpress charges a $24.95 fee for use of the third party software. At last check Scottrade and some other brokerages provide free use of Gainskeeper to its customers. The Geldpress research team has not heard of any broken or incorrect data feed problems with the use of Gainskeeper on other platforms such as Scottrade.
Optionsxpress customers who have paid the $24.95 fee for the use of Gainskeeper may want to double check the tax report generated with the tool for accuracy.
Have you found an issue with Gainskeeper? Tell us about it here
For more general information on trader related tax rules, check out the following book:

Capital Gains, Minimal Taxes 2009: The Essential Guide For Investors And Traders by Kaye Thomas
