Buying more shares of a stock before selling partial shares of same stock
A number of years ago I bought shares of XYZ stock. As the shares have been going down in price since my original purchase, I would periodically buy more shares. In fact I just bought some more shares about a week ago. Today I decided to sell my original shares, but holding on to all the subsequent shares that I purchased. Did I just do something that is against the IRS rules?
Terry Says
You’ll have to verify that the shares you sold were the ones you originally purchased, and pay the capital gains tax — assuming there was a gain on those older,longer-held shares.
But if there was a loss on those older shares you may have a problem claiming it as it applies to the number of shares recently purchased. That might be considered a “wash sale”. You need a good accountant to prepare your tax return if this is the case.
