ripvanwinkle
Well-Known Member
All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing - Edmund Burke 1729 -1797
Joined: Jan 9, 2011 22:36:42 GMT -5
Posts: 1,349
|
Post by ripvanwinkle on Dec 18, 2019 21:50:07 GMT -5
I'm going to sell about $3000 of GE and SLX stock at a loss and maybe buy a few tech or energy stocks. Will this avoid the wash sale rule?  |
|
ModE98
Administrator
Start Investing admin
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 16:11:39 GMT -5
Posts: 4,441
|
Post by ModE98 on Dec 19, 2019 12:28:07 GMT -5
|
|
ripvanwinkle
Well-Known Member
All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing - Edmund Burke 1729 -1797
Joined: Jan 9, 2011 22:36:42 GMT -5
Posts: 1,349
|
Post by ripvanwinkle on Dec 19, 2019 21:43:32 GMT -5
That's no help. "The rule defines a wash sale as one that occurs when an individual sells or trades a security at a loss and, within 30 days before or after this sale, buys a “substantially identical” stock or security, or acquires a contract or option to do so".
That's very ambiguous. How do I know if it is "substantial"? How about GM, Ford? Exxon or the many industries that supply oil infrastructure? Cannabis Hexo? Microsoft? Google? I could go on and on.
Do I have to call the IRS and ask if a specific company is "substantial" ? Would my broker at Schwab have this secret list?
|
|
clarkrl2
Administrator
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 17:57:01 GMT -5
Posts: 5,795
|
Post by clarkrl2 on Dec 19, 2019 22:22:45 GMT -5
ripvanwinkle, I think substantially identical would be like GOOG and GOOGL but not competitors in the same industry like GM and F. If you have a broker that has some kind of tax tracking tools they could probably help otherwise you would probably need to ask a tax professional. Identical is a pretty high standard though so as long as you stay away from another class of GE shares, or GE options and futures, or something substantially identical to SLX I think you don't have anything to worry about.
|
|
ripvanwinkle
Well-Known Member
All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing - Edmund Burke 1729 -1797
Joined: Jan 9, 2011 22:36:42 GMT -5
Posts: 1,349
|
Post by ripvanwinkle on Dec 19, 2019 23:47:11 GMT -5
ripvanwinkle, I think substantially identical would be like GOOG and GOOGL but not competitors in the same industry like GM and F. If you have a broker that has some kind of tax tracking tools they could probably help otherwise you would probably need to ask a tax professional. Identical is a pretty high standard though so as long as you stay away from another class of GE shares, or GE options and futures, or something substantially identical to SLX I think you don't have anything to worry about. Thanks. Gives me some things to ponder. Maybe I'll just roll the dice. |
|
CCL
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 19:34:47 GMT -5
Posts: 7,594
|
Post by CCL on Dec 24, 2019 2:59:27 GMT -5
Agree with Clarkrl2. I wouldn't call those substantially identical, either.
|
|
