How do I choose which stock to sell when I purchased at two different prices?
Question:
Answer:
FIFO rule.first in, first out.
you must call your broker and specify which block to sell
i would not worry about it, since the prices are so close.
i own the IBB for exposure to biotech.
EXEL has lots of insider selling
easy way is to hold them. Don't sell.
you'll pay taxes on cap gains for the ones you profited from.
Find the best deal do a research.
Wow! I wish I had such a predicament!
You pick when you do your taxes. Usually FIFO (first in first out) but you calculate your basis based on if you need cap gains that year or not
You instruct the broker which lots to sell.
just see the charts, you'll get an idea which stock will to go down and which one will go up!
it doesnt really matter which your selling. you now have 600 shares of exel. you can sell it whenever you want.
If it's shares in the same stock, they are all now equal in price - even if you asked to sell specific shares, or could sell specific shares, it wouldn't matter. You should not be working without a net, however.
Assuming you used the same broker for both purchases, the stocks are fungible. HOWEVER, tax laws say FIFO. That is, the first in, first out. So you must calculate your gain or loss on the first hundred shares sold from the first purchase price.
You will show a greater loss if you sell the ones bought at 10, which will help at tax time. For either lot, you have a loss right now since today's close was a little under 9. You can offset up to $3000 in capital losses against ordinary income per year on your taxes.
If you had a gain, selling the ones purchased at the higher cost would show less of a gain, and again help at tax time.
If you don't or can't specify which shares are sold, the IRS considers the sale to be of the earlier ones purchased.
it does not matter, just use the average weighted price of the purchases. in your case, it would be 600 shares at 9.39 per share. as long as the price is above this cost, then your above-water.
It won't matter when you sell on the Scottrade Sell screen - it will allow you to sell any amount up to 600 shares. - it only matters on April 15th regarding the profits you made. many right answers above - FIFO for tax purposes only -
Good advice on that - pay your taxes and don't base buys and sells on that too much - maybe right at the end of each year you can do a little adjustment to bring down the tax burden. Base your buys and sells to maximize profits regardless of the tax situation in almost all cases.
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