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Wash sale rule for me?

Personal Finance & Money Asked by Kamala Shrestha on May 15, 2021

I am in US.

First of all I didn’t knew wash sale applies for multiple accounts. That is completely my silliness.

  • I purchased 100 shares of company X at $10 each in account 1 on January 1.
  • I sold 30 of them in loss at $5 in February 15.
  • Then I bought 5 shares of company X at $4 on February 20 in account 2.
  • Then I sold the remaining 70 in account 1 for $3 in February 28.
  • I am still holding position the 5 shares account2.

Does this trigger wash sale? How much and in how many shares/amount? Can I avoid it by end of 2021 as I can wait for position of account2 to be closed for several months.

One Answer

Yes it's a wash sale, assuming these are taxable accounts. Separate accounts are irrelevant, even if they are held at different brokerages (you would be responsible for the basis adjustments in that case; otherwise your brokerage should handle it but you should confirm). Since you are still holding only 5 shares, and 30 days have passed since the last sale at a loss, those are the only shares you have to worry about.

You sold 30 shares at a loss of $5/share on February 15. Then you bought 5 shares at $4/share on February 20. Since that was within 30 days, your $4/share basis is adjusted up to $9/share. Therefore, your tax loss is deferred until you sell those remaining 5 shares, and don't repurchase for 30 days. You use the earliest sale according to Fairmark, so that's why the adjustment is made with the February 15 sale rather than the February 28 sale.

Answered by Craig W on May 15, 2021

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