Sorry if this has been discussed already. I was unable to find a discussion which used futures. If I short a future(sufficiently far expiry) now instead of selling my shares, and just deliver shares at expiry, do I avoid booking the profit as short term gains? Also, supposing the stock moves up before the expiry of the future and I decide to get out of the short future position, do I get to recognize the loss on the future as a short-term loss, possibly offsetting gains from short-term option holdings?