Taxing options from Interactive Brokers & Tastytrade in Germany: writing, closing, expiry

For a private investor in Germany, options are capital income and belong on Anlage KAP — not Anlage SO. How an option trade is taxed depends on whether you buy the option (a forward transaction, Termingeschäft, § 20 Abs. 2 S. 1 Nr. 3 EStG) or write it (a writer transaction, Stillhaltergeschäft, § 20 Abs. 1 Nr. 11 EStG), and on how the position ends: closing, expiry or exercise. Since the 2024 Annual Tax Act (JStG 2024), option losses can once again be offset without limit within capital income.

Below you find the rules, four worked examples and what capi.tax handles automatically.

How are options taxed in Germany?

The overview first. "Long" means you bought the option. "Short" means you wrote it (sold it without owning it first) and are the writer (Stillhalter).

You compute all of these results in euros — each amount at the rate of the day it arises or is paid.

Bought options (long call, long put)

A bought option is a forward transaction (§ 20 Abs. 2 S. 1 Nr. 3 EStG). The premium paid plus fees is your acquisition cost. A taxable result only arises when the position ends.

Selling before expiry

If you sell the option again (sell to close), your result is the sale proceeds less fees minus the acquisition cost — both in euros (§ 20 Abs. 2 S. 1 Nr. 3 lit. b EStG, computed under § 20 Abs. 4 S. 5 EStG). Gains are taxable, losses can be offset.

Worthless expiry

If the option expires worthless, the premium you paid is a deductible loss (§ 20 Abs. 2 S. 1 Nr. 3 lit. a EStG). This was disputed for a long time; the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) settled it in 2016 (including BFH, IX R 48/14), and the tax authority applies it. capi.tax books the expiry like a sale at €0 — the result is a loss equal to the acquisition cost.

Exercise with delivery of shares

If you exercise an option and receive or deliver shares, the premium is not a separate forward-transaction loss (BMF circular on the Abgeltungsteuer, most recently of 14 May 2025):

• Long call exercised: you buy the shares at the strike. The premium paid raises the shares' acquisition cost.
• Long put exercised: you deliver shares at the strike. The premium paid reduces the sale proceeds.

The result therefore lands in the shares pot, not with forward transactions. capi.tax does this re-allocation automatically for Interactive Brokers: it recognises the exercise from the codes in the export, links the option and share bookings and folds the premium into the share purchase or sale.

Cash settlement

Index options are usually cash-settled. The difference between the cash settlement and the premium paid is then a forward-transaction result (§ 20 Abs. 2 S. 1 Nr. 3 lit. a EStG, computed under § 20 Abs. 4 S. 5 EStG).

Written options (Stillhalter): premium, closing, expiry, assignment

The writer premium

When you write an option, you receive a premium. It is taxable when it reaches you (§ 20 Abs. 1 Nr. 11 EStG) — regardless of what later happens to the option. Legally, a writer transaction is not a forward transaction, even though broker exports and capi.tax list it under "derivatives" or "forward transactions".

How capi.tax calculates it: if you write and close an option in the same year, you see one netted result (premium minus buyback) – for tax purposes that is the same. If the option is still open on 31 December, its premium minus fees counts in the year you wrote it. Fees reduce the premium whether they arise when writing or when buying back (BMF letter of 14 May 2025, paras. 25 and 33). The trade date in the export decides; the premium is credited one bank business day later. That only matters for options you write on the last trading day of the year.

Closing (buy-back)

If you buy the option back (buy to close), the buy-back premium plus fees reduces your income. If the buy-back costs more than the premium you received, you have a loss that can be offset in full.

If the sale and the buy-back fall in different years, the buy-back plus fees counts as negative income in the year you pay for it (§ 20 Abs. 1 Nr. 11 half-sentence 2 EStG as amended by the JStG 2024; BMF letter of 14 May 2025, paras. 25 and 33). The premium from the earlier year is not counted again. That is how capi.tax calculates it – you don't need to add an opening position.

For buy-backs you paid before 2024, the BFH ruled differently: the buy-back reduces the premium in the year you wrote the option (BFH of 2 Aug 2022, VIII R 27/21). The tax authority still looks to the payment date. capi.tax follows the tax authority for these years too and shows you a notice in that case. Whether you want to rely on the ruling is best clarified with a tax advisor.

Worthless expiry

If your written option expires worthless, the premium stays income in full. If it only expires in the following year, nothing arises in the expiry year – the premium counts in the year you wrote it.

Assignment

If your option is exercised, you have to deliver or take delivery:

• Short put assigned: you buy the shares at the strike. The acquisition cost is the strike plus fees — the premium is not deducted.
• Short call assigned: you deliver the shares at the strike. That is a share sale; the proceeds are the strike, and the acquisition cost comes from your holdings under FIFO.

In both cases the premium remains separate income under § 20 Abs. 1 Nr. 11 EStG. The share part runs separately in the shares pot. capi.tax models exactly this for Interactive Brokers and Tastytrade. If the assignment falls in the year after you wrote the option, the option creates nothing in the assignment year; the premium counts in the year you wrote it.

With cash-settled options that end in the money, you as the writer pay a cash settlement. That settlement is a forward-transaction loss. capi.tax cannot tell it apart from a closing trade in the export and treats it as a writer loss. From 2025 this makes no difference to the form lines; for 2021 to 2024 the amount belongs only in line 24 — not in line 22 and not in line 19. Check it yourself in that case.

Spreads, rolls and multi-leg strategies

For tax purposes, a spread, an iron condor or a strangle consists of individual options. Each leg is treated on its own: the written legs are writer transactions, the bought legs forward transactions. Even if you open and close the strategy as a whole, several results arise.

A roll is not a separate event either: you close the old option (the result arises now) and write or buy a new one (a new position). capi.tax matches each leg under FIFO to the right opening trade — separately by underlying, expiry, strike and type.

Which loss pot applies to options?

Since the 2024 Annual Tax Act there is no separate pot for forward transactions any more. The former cap of €20,000 per year (§ 20 Abs. 6 S. 5 EStG, old version) was abolished — in all cases still open (§ 52 Abs. 28 S. 25 and 26 EStG), so also for 2021 to 2023 as long as the assessment is not final. A case is also open if the assessment was issued subject to review (§ 164 AO) or provisionally on this point (§ 165 AO).

What this means for you:

• Gains and losses from options — bought or written — go into the general loss pot, together with interest, dividends and funds.
• Only losses from share sales keep their own pot (§ 20 Abs. 6 S. 4 EStG). A share loss from an assignment therefore cannot be offset against option gains.

capi.tax applies this rule without a cap for every year from 2021. If an assessment for 2021 to 2023 is already final and can no longer be changed, the old cap may have applied there — capi.tax cannot judge that. More under Offsetting losses.

Where do options go on Anlage KAP?

With a foreign broker, no German tax was withheld. Your option results therefore belong in the block for "capital income not subject to German withholding". Which lines exactly depends on the form year.

Tax years 2021 to 2024 (separate lines for forward transactions):

A writer loss is not a forward-transaction loss (§ 20 Abs. 1 Nr. 11 EStG), so it goes in line 22, not line 24.

From tax year 2025 lines 21 and 24 no longer exist:

In both versions, share results from assignments and exercises go in line 20 (gains) or line 23 (losses). For years before 2021, capi.tax uses the 2025 layout; the line numbers of those older forms have not been checked. An overview of all the forms is under Anlage KAP, KAP-INV & SO.

Euro conversion and fees

Options at Interactive Brokers and Tastytrade are usually in US dollars. For tax purposes every amount counts in euros, converted at the rate of the day it arises: for bought options, the rate at the time of acquisition or sale (§ 20 Abs. 4 S. 1 half-sentence 2 EStG). Writer premium and buy-back premium are converted at the time of payment (§ 20 Abs. 1 Nr. 11 EStG, inflow and outflow under § 11 EStG) — the premium at the rate on the day of the sale, the buy-back at the rate on the day of the buy-back. capi.tax uses the daily reference rates of the Deutsche Bundesbank. That is why a trade that nets exactly zero in dollars can show a gain or loss in euros. Details under Currency conversion.

Fees and commissions are part of the trade: on opening they raise the acquisition cost or reduce the premium received, on closing they reduce the proceeds or raise the buy-back price. Fees do not create a result of their own.

Worked examples

The rates in the examples are example values, not real Bundesbank rates. One contract covers 100 shares. Euro amounts are rounded to the cent.

Example 1: long call sold at a gain

• 10 Mar 2025: you buy 1 call at USD 3.00 per share. USD 300 premium + USD 1 fee = USD 301. Rate 1.0850 USD/EUR → €277.42 acquisition cost.
• 12 May 2025: you sell the call at USD 5.20. USD 520 − USD 1 fee = USD 519. Rate 1.1250 USD/EUR → €461.33 proceeds.
• Result: €461.33 − €277.42 = €183.91 gain from a forward transaction.

Example 2: long put expires worthless

• 3 Feb 2025: you buy 1 put at USD 2.10. USD 210 + USD 1 fee = USD 211. Rate 1.0800 USD/EUR → €195.37.
• 21 Mar 2025: the put expires worthless.
• Result: €0 − €195.37 = €195.37 loss from a forward transaction, fully offsettable.

Example 3: short put bought back at a loss

• 7 Apr 2025: you write 1 put at USD 4.00. USD 400 − USD 1 fee = USD 399. Rate 1.0900 USD/EUR → €366.06 writer premium.
• 16 May 2025: the stock has fallen and you buy the put back at USD 7.50. USD 750 + USD 1 fee = USD 751. Rate 1.1000 USD/EUR → €682.73 buy-back premium.
• Result: €366.06 − €682.73 = €316.67 loss from the writer transaction.

For tax purposes these are two steps: income of €366.06 and a buy-back premium of €682.73 that reduces it. Because both fall in the same year, capi.tax shows the result directly.

Example 4: short call assigned (covered call)

• 2 Jun 2025: you buy 100 shares at USD 140. USD 14,000 + USD 1 fee = USD 14,001. Rate 1.0800 USD/EUR → €12,963.89.
• 9 Jun 2025: you write 1 call with a USD 150 strike at USD 1.80. USD 180 − USD 1 fee = USD 179. Rate 1.0850 USD/EUR → €164.98 writer premium.
• 18 Jul 2025: the call is assigned and you deliver the 100 shares at USD 150 = USD 15,000 (assuming no fee for the delivery). Rate 1.1000 USD/EUR → €13,636.36.
• Writer result: €164.98 gain (the premium, unchanged).
• Share result: €13,636.36 − €12,963.89 = €672.47 gain from a share sale.

How the four examples land on Anlage KAP

All four trades fall in 2025:

• Line 19: 183.91 − 195.37 − 316.67 + 164.98 + 672.47 = €509.32
• Line 20 (share gains): €672.47
• Line 22 (losses other than share losses): 195.37 + 316.67 = €512.04

If the same trades had happened in 2024, it would look like this:

• Line 19: 183.91 − 316.67 + 164.98 + 672.47 = €704.69 (the loss from example 2 is missing here)
• Line 20: €672.47
• Line 21: 183.91 + 164.98 = €348.89
• Line 22: €316.67 (writer loss from example 3)
• Line 24: €195.37 (loss on the bought option in example 2)

What capi.tax handles for options — and what it doesn't

capi.tax reads your option trades from the Interactive Brokers CSV Activity Statement or Flex Query (XML) and from the Tastytrade CSV export. It matches every close to the right opening under FIFO, recognises written positions, books worthless expiries for both brokers and converts everything to euros at the Bundesbank rate.

Where you need to step in:

• Opened in a prior year: if you only upload the current year, capi.tax is missing the opening of a bought position from the year before. You get a notice and can add the opening position. Written options from a prior year don't need that: the premium counts in the year written, a buyback as negative income in the year paid – capi.tax calculates this itself.
• Cash settlement as writer: treated like a writer loss (see above).
• Currency gains on your dollar balance are computed by capi.tax for Interactive Brokers (not for Tastytrade) and shown separately, not yet in the Anlage KAP lines — see Currency gains.

How to create the export at your broker is under Interactive Brokers and Tastytrade.

Related questions

• Does the €20,000 cap on forward transactions still apply?
• Is a loss on a written option I bought back deductible?
• Is capital gains tax deducted at Interactive Brokers?

You can process your export in capi.tax right away — everything runs in your browser.

Last updated: October 11, 2026