*AV*--Thanks for the long version of the wash rule. I am catching up on all posts and this one is a "keeper" which I have printed out for future reference. I always wanted a wash rule primer with explanation.
I always avoided a wash sale, a practice I picked up from my father and grandfather many years ago when I was young. I thought you lost the write off, period. I never realized that the wash rule postponed the loss much like you used to postpone the gain on the sale of a residence by buying a more expensive home. It seems they both work the same but on different sides of the equation: loss vs gain. Each is nothing more than a postponement. As you stated before, sometimes you learn something. This was an eye opener. If I read this correctly, I can sell at a loss in April, buy the stock back in May (prior to the 30 days) and sell the stock in December of the same year and all it really does is adjust the cost basis of the May purchase higher to reflect the loss taken and then reduce the capital gains on the December sale, if you are in a profitable position. This is much better than what I originally thought.
However, here is the killer question:
Buy stock A at $30 and hold onto it for 2 years (long term) and it is now in the loss position. If I sell and then buy back in prior to 30 days and then sell within 12 months later at a gain, do I have a long term or short term capital gain??? Also, how do the losses balance out with the gains, if they fall into different categories.
Andrew |
