SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Strategies & Market Trends : Income Taxes and Record Keeping ( tax )

 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
To: Craig Monroe who wrote (2266)7/26/1999 1:13:00 PM
From: Kaye Thomas  Read Replies (1) of 5810
 
I'm not aware of a program that handles wash sales. The question comes up frequently. Wash sales can get pretty complicated, and I'm not sure anyone fully understands how they work for short sales, so I have my doubts as to whether anyone could write software that handles all the possibilities.

It's not exactly true that it's only a year-end problem, but there's a seed of truth there. If you're completely out of any stock in which you had wash sales at the end of the year, and you stay out for at least 31 days, you'll generally end up reporting the same aggregate amount of gains and losses under the wash sale rule as if the rule didn't apply. Nowhere is it written that you have permission then to ignore the wash sale rule, but penalties in the tax area generally relate to the amount of your underpayment, and ignoring the wash sale rule in this situation doesn't produce an underpayment.

Note that if you held some stock at the beginning of the year, the wash sale rule can extend the holding period of your stock, possibly converting a short-term loss into a long-term loss. That could affect your tax bill even if you clear the books at the end of the year.

Kaye Thomas, author
Fairmark Press Tax Guide for Investors
fairmark.com
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext