Considerations
Use this page to sell or "close" an option by FIFO.
Click one of the icons above to view either a list of the transactions available for that category, or click the Baseline Holdings icon to access the Add New Baseline Holdings page.
Procedure
From the Manually Record Trades page, click the Option icon to access the Options - Record Transaction page. From this page, select Sell to Close from the Action drop-down list. The Options - Record Sell to Close Transaction page displays.
Select the account to which to record this transaction, from the In Account drop-down list. If you only have one account, this drop-down list is not displayed.
By default, the Option Category on this page is set to Option on Stock. You can select one of the following from this drop-down list to change the option category:
Option on a Stock
Option on an Index
Option on a Currency
Option on an ETF
Option on a Future
By default, the Action on this page is set to Sell to Close. To change this, select a different transaction from the Action drop-down list. The fields that display depend on the transaction that is selected. To record a sell to close transaction, and allocate specific contracts to sell to close, enter an Options - Record Sell to Close by ID transaction.
Enter the date of the transaction in the Transaction Date (mm/dd/yyyy) field. You can also click the Calendar icon and select the appropriate transaction date from the calendar that displays.
Enter the 3-26 character pure option symbol in the Symbol field. Do not enter dashes, periods, or plus signs. Click Verify to confirm you have entered the correct symbol for the option.
Enter the 3-26 character pure option symbol by entering each of the following parameters:
Root Symbol
Expiration date mm/dd/yyyy
Strike Price
Select Put or Call
Once you enter the parameters, click Verify to confirm you have entered the correct symbol for the option.
Click the Option Symbol Lookup link to access the option symbol builder tool. This tool enables you to search for an existing option, or to build a custom option.
Select the type of security from the Security Type drop-down list. By default, this field is set to Options for this transaction.
Enter the number of contracts in the Contracts field. The default information used is the standard 100 shares per contract. If your option has a different set up, enter the number of shares per contract associated with your option in the field provided. It is important that this figure is accurate to ensure correct calculations for this option transaction.
To calculate the Total Proceeds of the transaction, do one of the following:
Select the Price per Share radio button - Enter the Price per Share and the Commission amount + All Fees in the fields provided. Once you have entered this information, click the Calculate Total Proceeds button. The result displays in the Total Proceeds field.
Select the Total Proceeds radio button - If you select this radio button, the Total Proceeds field becomes active and the Calculate Total Proceeds button is no longer displayed. Enter the total proceeds of the trade in the field provided. Be sure to subtract the total commission amount and any fees.
To record the Sell to Close transaction, click the Record button. To record the transaction and continue to enter additional transactions, click the Record & Repeat button. To leave this page, without recording the transaction, click the Cancel button.
Example
Click here to view an example of the Options - Record Sell to Close Transaction page.
Click any of the numbered areas below to view the procedure step for the selected field.