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Preparing a folder for an accountant at year end is easier than reconstructing things in spring. Rules differ by country, so treat this as a list of questions, and check the specifics with an adviser.

What to collect:

• Annual account statements from every broker, including closed accounts.
• Deposit and withdrawal records with bank confirmations.
• Prop firm payout records and any fees paid for challenges.
• Exchange rates used if the account currency differs from your home currency.
• Costs that may be deductible in some countries: data, VPS, software, courses.
• Your trading journal export, in case questions come up.

Tips:

• Download statements in December. Brokers sometimes limit how far back you can download.
• Save PDFs and CSV exports together.
• Note every account number in one list.

The prop firm part is where people often get confused, because payouts may not be trading profits in the legal sense. Ask your adviser how they're treated in your country.

What's on your year-end list?

Last year I scrambled in March to rebuild my records, and I will not do that again. What I do now is create the folder on the first of December and move through a short list. I download the annual statement for every account, including the demo-turned-live one I had nearly forgotten, and save both the PDF and the CSV so I can match them later if the numbers differ.

The part that took me longest was the deposits and withdrawals. My bank shows the converted amount in my home currency, while the broker shows dollars, so I keep a small sheet with the date, both amounts and the rate that applied. When my accountant asked about the difference on one transfer, the sheet answered it in two minutes.

I also keep receipts for a VPS and data subscription in the same place with a one line note about what each is for. Whether any of it is deductible depends on where you live, but having it organized means the adviser decides instead of you guessing.