3 Ways to Prepare for Tax Season
Foresight — and TD AMERITRADE tools — may help reduce your outlays
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1
Avoid Wash Sales
Some investors unload stocks and bonds that are selling below their purchase price to offset gains on other investments, then buy a similar stock or bond. But if that occurs within 30 days before or after the sale, the IRS will consider it a wash sale and won’t recognize it.
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2
Consider a Stock Swap
Logging losses on stocks can help offset capital gains on investment income. If you’ve kept a stock because chart performance suggests an imminent rise, selling can be tough. An alternative? Consider selling the stock and using tools such as Pattern Matcher to help find a similar security. You get the write-off without sacrificing a potential upswing.
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3
Know Cost Basis
Many tax calculations depend on cost basis — the amount of money you invested in an asset. Determining it can be complicated. But
TD AMERITRADE provides a gain/loss tracking tool and access to several years of stock-purchase information to help.
Results obtained from Pattern Matcher are based on historical data, but there is no guarantee the chart pattern will continue in the future.