IRS · Official form

Form 6781, Gains and Losses From Section 1256 Contracts and Straddles

Form 6781 reports two specialized kinds of investment results: mark-to-market gains and losses on section 1256 contracts, such as regulated futures, and gains and losses from straddle positions. Fill in the official PDF below.

Fill out 6781 in the editor Download the blank PDF Quick fill on this page

This is the genuine IRS PDF, unmodified. Source: IRS official page.

What is 6781?

Section 1256 contracts, which include regulated futures contracts, certain foreign currency contracts, and nonequity options, are taxed on a mark-to-market basis: open positions are treated as sold at fair market value at year end. The net result gets a distinctive split, 60 percent long-term and 40 percent short-term capital gain or loss, regardless of holding period. Part I of Form 6781 handles this.

Parts II and III cover straddles, offsetting positions in personal property where the loss rules defer recognizing losses to the extent of unrecognized gain in the offsetting position. Totals from the form flow to Schedule D and, where required, Form 8949.

Who files 6781?

Traders and investors in regulated futures contracts or nonequity options, typically reported to them on a broker’s Form 1099-B
Taxpayers with foreign currency contracts treated as section 1256 contracts
Investors holding straddle positions with realized losses or unrecognized gains
Taxpayers electing special treatment, such as the mixed straddle election, identified by the election boxes at the top of the form

How to fill out 6781

Enter each section 1256 contract result in Part I, or the aggregate from your broker’s Form 1099-B, including year-end mark-to-market amounts.
Net the gains and losses and apply the 60/40 split, carrying the long-term and short-term portions to Schedule D.
Report losses from straddle positions in Part II, limited by unrecognized gain in offsetting positions.
List unrecognized gains on open positions at year end in Part III when required.
Download the completed PDF and attach it to your return with Schedule D and any Form 8949 entries.

Quick fill 6781 on this page

Prefer to see the form itself while you type? Open 6781 in the editor to fill it on the actual pages, add a signature, and download.

These are the form's own fields, in the order they appear on the pages. Fill in what you know; anything left blank stays a fillable field in the PDF, so you can finish it in any PDF reader. Nothing you type here is sent to IRS.

Page 1 71 fields

Name(s) shown on tax return

Identifying number

Mixed straddle election

Straddle-by-straddle identification election

Mixed straddle account election

Net section 1256 contracts loss election

Part I. Section 1256 Contracts Marked to Market. 1. Row: 1. Column: (a) Identification of account.

Row: 1. Column: (b) (Loss).

Row: 1. Column: (c) Gain.

Row: 2. Column: (a) Identification of account.

Row: 2. Column: (b) (Loss).

Row: 2. Column: (c) Gain.

Row: 3. Column: (a) Identification of account.

Row: 3. Column: (b) (Loss).

Row: 3. Column: (c) Gain.

2. Add the amounts on line 1 in columns (b) and (c). Open parenthesis. (b) (Loss). Close parenthesis.

2. (c) Gain.

3. Net gain or (loss). Combine line 2, columns (b) and (c).

4. Form 1099-B adjustments. See instructions and attach statement.

5. Combine lines 3 and 4.

6. If you have a net section 1256 contracts loss and checked box D above, enter the amount of loss to be carried back. Enter the loss as a

7. Combine lines 5 and 6.

8. Short-term capital gain or (loss). Multiply line 7 by 40% (0.40). Enter here and include on line 4 of Schedule D or on Form 8949. See

9. Long-term capital gain or (loss). Multiply line 7 by 60% (0.60). Enter here and include on line 11 of Schedule D or on Form 8949. See

10. Row: 1. Column: (a) Description of property.

Row: 1. Column: (b) Date entered into or acquired.

Row: 1. Column: (c) Date closed out or sold.

Row: 1. Column: (d) Gross sales price.

Row: 1. Column: (e) Cost or other basis plus expense of sale.

Row: 1. Column: (f) Loss. If column (e) is more than (d), enter difference. Otherwise, enter 0.

Row: 1. Column: (g) Unrecognized gain on offsetting positions.

Row: 1. Column: (h) Recognized loss. If column (f) is more than (g), enter difference. Otherwise, enter 0.

Row: 2. Column: (a) Description of property.

Row: 2. Column: (b) Date entered into or acquired.

Row: 2. Column: (c) Date closed out or sold.

Row: 2. Column: (d) Gross sales price.

Row: 2. Column: (e) Cost or other basis plus expense of sale.

Row: 2. Column: (f) Loss. If column (e) is more than (d), enter difference. Otherwise, enter 0.

Row: 2. Column: (g) Unrecognized gain on offsetting positions.

Row: 2. Column: (h) Recognized loss. If column (f) is more than (g), enter difference. Otherwise, enter 0.

11a. Open parenthesis. Enter the short-term portion of losses from line 10, column (h), here and include on line 4 of Schedule D or on Form

11b. Open parenthesis. Enter the long-term portion of losses from line 10, column (h), here and include on line 11 of Schedule D or on Form

Section B—Gains From Straddles. 12. Row: 1. Column: (a) Description of property.

Row: 1. Column: (b) Date entered into or acquired.

Row: 1. Column: (c) Date closed out or sold.

Row: 1. Column: (d) Gross sales price.

Row: 1. Column: (e) Cost or other basis plus expense of sale.

Row: 1. Column: (f) Gain. If column (d) is more than (e), enter difference. Otherwise, enter 0.

Row: 2. Column: (a) Description of property.

Row: 2. Column: (b) Date entered into or acquired.

Row: 2. Column: (c) Date closed out or sold.

Row: 2. Column: (d) Gross sales price.

Row: 2. Column: (e) Cost or other basis plus expense of sale.

Row: 2. Column: (f) Gain. If column (d) is more than (e), enter difference. Otherwise, enter 0.

13a. Enter the short-term portion of gains from line 12, column (f), here and include on line 4 of Schedule D or on Form 8949. See

13b. Enter the long-term portion of gains from line 12, column (f), here and include on line 11 of Schedule D or on Form 8949. See

14. Row: 1. Column: (a) Description of property.

Row: 1. Column: (b) Date acquired.

Row: 1. Column: (c) Fair market value on last business day of tax year.

Row: 1. Column: (d) Cost or other basis as adjusted.

Row: 1. Column: (e) Unrecognized gain. If column (c) is more than (d), enter difference. Otherwise, enter 0.

Row: 2. Column: (a) Description of property.

Row: 2. Column: (b) Date acquired.

Row: 2. Column: (c) Fair market value on last business day of tax year.

Row: 2. Column: (d) Cost or other basis as adjusted.

Row: 2. Column: (e) Unrecognized gain. If column (c) is more than (d), enter difference. Otherwise, enter 0.

Row: 3. Column: (a) Description of property.

Row: 3. Column: (b) Date acquired.

Row: 3. Column: (c) Fair market value on last business day of tax year.

Row: 3. Column: (d) Cost or other basis as adjusted.

Row: 3. Column: (e) Unrecognized gain. If column (c) is more than (d), enter difference. Otherwise, enter 0.

Lock the PDF after filling (values become permanent, fields are removed)

Processed on our own servers, never sent to a third-party service. Files are deleted automatically after two hours, and you can delete them sooner from the result screen.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 60/40 rule?

Net gain or loss on section 1256 contracts is treated as 60 percent long-term and 40 percent short-term capital gain or loss, no matter how long you held the contracts. Form 6781 applies the split automatically as you work through Part I.

Can I carry back a section 1256 loss?

Individuals can elect to carry back a net section 1256 contracts loss up to three years against prior section 1256 gains, subject to limits. The election is made by checking the box on Form 6781 and following the instructions.

Do ordinary stock options go on Form 6781?

Generally no. Equity options on individual stocks are not section 1256 contracts and belong on Form 8949 and Schedule D. Broad-based index options, however, are usually nonequity options taxed under section 1256.

Form 6781, Gains and Losses From Section 1256 Contracts and Straddles

What is 6781?

Who files 6781?

How to fill out 6781

Quick fill 6781 on this page

Frequently asked questions

Related forms

Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets

Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses

Form 4797, Sales of Business Property