Why Index Options Are Taxed 60/40: Section 1256
Average daily options volume: Section 1256 names against equity optionsranking ·
2026-08-22 · 4×3
Share of contract volume by days to expiry, SPX and SPYranking ·
2026-08-22 · 5×3
SPX vs SPY Options: Which One to Trade
SPY option volume by days to expiry, trailing six weeksranking ·
2026-08-22 · 5×3
Time value left in deep in-the-money SPY calls, against the dividend at stakeranking ·
2026-08-22 · 16×4
How close SPY closes to the nearest whole-dollar strike on monthly expirationsseries ·
2026-08-22 · 13×4
What one contract controls: SPX, SPY and XSPranking ·
2026-08-22 · 3×4
AM vs PM Settled Index Options Explained
The same hypothetical on every session: expiration mornings against the rest of the tapetable ·
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The prices behind the arithmetic: Thursday's close, the strike, Friday's open and closeseries ·
2026-08-03 · 29×6
One at-the-money call settled two ways: the ten widest splits since January 2024table ·
2026-08-03 · 10×5
Every monthly expiration since January 2024: the overnight gap, then the session that followedseries ·
2026-08-03 · 29×4
Average daily options volume: Section 1256 names against equity options
Average daily options volume: Section 1256 names against equity options
| symbol | tax_treatment | avg_daily_contracts_k |
|---|---|---|
| SPY | Ordinary equity option | 3834.8 |
| QQQ | Ordinary equity option | 2349.7 |
| IWM | Ordinary equity option | 941.9 |
| AAPL | Ordinary equity option | 833.5 |
the exact SQL behind every number
SELECT
replaceOne(underlying_symbol, 'I:', '') AS symbol,
if(symbol IN ('SPX', 'XSP', 'NDX', 'RUT', 'VIX'),
'Section 1256 (60/40)',
'Ordinary equity option') AS tax_treatment,
round(sum(volume) / countDistinct(date) / 1000, 1) AS avg_daily_contracts_k
FROM global_markets.options_greeks
WHERE date >= today() - 90
AND symbol IN ('SPX', 'XSP', 'NDX', 'RUT', 'VIX', 'SPY', 'QQQ', 'IWM', 'AAPL')
AND volume > 0
GROUP BY symbol
ORDER BY avg_daily_contracts_k DESC
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