Some here may accuse me of sounding like a broken record (gg), but go get yourself a copy of Quicken. The 99 version just came out...should run you $50-60 dollars.
You get up on Friday morning when the rest of the world is shopping, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and then enter every transaction.
Why? First, your brokers are NOT required to report your gains and losses to you at the end of the year, although some have started to do this. You may want to inquire of them. But even if they do, they boldface tell you that their figures may not be accurate. Also if you trade one or two stocks frequently and want to "manage" your gains and losses by designating lots, Quicken allows this and, in fact, prompts you to tell it which lot(s) you're selling. If you think you may have any wash sales, then you simply MUST keep separate track of this.
Additionally the 1099's that your brokers send to the IRS at the end of the year with a cc to you only report sales proceeds. YOU are required to accurately report gains and losses to the IRS on Schedule D.
My advice is to do this even if it seems daunting. I'm sure after you enter the first month, the rest will go fast. If you just want quick and dirty you could easily create an Excel spreadsheet to calculate gains and losses. One of our resident experts does this. After all is said and done, I myself export all my trades out of Quicken into Excel, separate my trades into short-term and long-term gains and losses and then attach the printout as a Statement attachment to Schedule D. I usually have a couple hundred trades though, I don't know how many you've had this year.
Hope that helps.
dax |
