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To: Trebor who wrote (2183)	11/19/1998 2:47:00 PM
From: Math Junkie	Respond to of 15132

<<I thought by identifying the block of stock I wanted to sell (the block I've held the longest or paid the most for) I could do this buy-then-sell transaction in less time than 31 days.>> That only works if the block you identify has a low enough basis that you will not be selling it at a loss. You can avoid a wash sale in the period 30 days before to 30 days after a purchase by not having a loss, or by selling all your shares of that security by the end of the year. -Richard (Not a tax professional - consult a tax professional for authoritative advice)

To: Trebor who wrote (2183)	11/19/1998 10:49:00 PM
From: Greg Jung	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 15132

I'll offer a second response, at odds but again qualified by nothing but general (non definitive) knowledge. If I understand your question, for example: lot 12345 200 shares bought 3/98 $40 lot 11111 300 shares bought 9/24/98 $30 lot 22222 700 shares bought 10/8/98 $5 Now the stock is at $20. It is my understanding that if you sold 500 shares on 10/26/98 for say $15 you would have a short-term gain of $10x500 = $5000. There is probably a last-in-first-out rule, -however- I believe this rule can be overridden by specifying which shares are to be sold. So you specify the 500 is from lots 12345 and 11111 so you have a short-term loss of $20200 + $10300. The basis of the remaining 700 shares is $5. I don't know the mechanics of specifying lots, it seems like a royal PIA to formally do it with the brokerage and it may be sufficient in your own bookkeeping. Greg