Derivatives Inside Retirement Accounts

Every strategy in this chapter changes character when you run it inside an IRA or a 401(k). The tax shelter looks like an unambiguous gift — no annual tax on premium income, no short-term gain rates, no reporting of every roll — and for a few strategies it genuinely is. For most, the wrapper takes away more than it gives, in ways that are not obvious until you have already given them up. This section is the accounting.