Tax

Ask a Tax Question, Get an Answer ASAP!

Have your own Tax question?

2 Tax Professionals are Online Now

characters left:

Not a Tax Question?

Question

wasnt of isnt there a new tax law regarding reporting of unrealized gains & losses for the 2008 calander year or that the broker now has to provide their clients with proper documentation of unrealized gains and losses so the client can prepare the needed schedule d tax forms

Submitted: 46 days and 16 hours ago.

Category: Tax

Value: $25

Status: CLOSED

State/Country relating to question: Missouri

Already Tried:
this is my first question and try

Posted by Merlo 46 days and 16 hours ago.

Answer

Hello XXXXXXX,

Unrealized gains or losses are never reported on your tax return, and there is no new requirement which mandates that this be done.

Unrealized gains or losses are strictly losses that you have on paper, such as when you buy a stock and then that stock either increases or decreases in value. On paper, you might show a gain or loss from your original purchase price of that stock, but you do not have an actual gain or loss until you sell the stock. When you sell the stock you then have a realized gain or loss, and that is the only time you report this on your Schedule D. You do not pay taxes or claim losses on anything except actual realized gains or losses.

If this was helpful please press the Accept button. Positive feedback is also appreciated.

Thank you XXXXXXX and let me know if you have more questions.

46 days and 16 hours ago.

Reply

I understand how the gains and losses works but I have a broker who doesnt provide any Gain or loss reporting to simplify my need for proper reporting to IRS on Schedule D

I thought a a new law came out that all brokers were required to now provide clients with necessary gain / loss documentation

if this is so i dont have it and can then go to broker and request needed info to complete my taxes in time

Accepted Answer

Hello again XXXXXXX,

Thank you for the clarification on your question. Your original post referred to the reporting of "unrealized" gains or losses, which is why I gave you the first answer that I did.

You are correct that there is new legislation which will require brokers and other financial institutions to provide the cost basis of securities to clients to aid in the calculation of their gains or losses. However, this does not actually take effect until next year in 2010. Any securities that you acquire in the year 2010 and beyond will need to be tracked by the investment firm, and when those securities are sold they will need to provide you with the cost information. Securities acquired prior to 2010 are not affected by this new law.

Here is a link to a brochure that outlines these new requirements.

http://www.dtcc.com/downloads/leadership/whitepapers/costbasis_whitepaper.pdf

If this was helfpul please press the Accept button. Positive feedback is also appreciated.

Thank you XXXXXXX and let me know if you have more questions.

Accepts:
Expert:	Merlo
Pos. Feedback:	99.8 %
Answered:	10/7/2009

Accountant

25+ years tax consulting. Specializing in returns for US citizens living abroad

Disclaimer: Information in questions, answers, and other posts on this site ("Posts") comes from individual users, not JustAnswer; JustAnswer is not responsible for Posts. Posts are for general information, are not intended to substitute for informed professional advice (medical, legal, veterinary, financial, etc.), or to establish a professional-client relationship. The site and services are provided "as is" with no warranty or representations by JustAnswer regarding the qualifications of Experts. To see what credentials have been verified by a third-party service, please click on the "Verified" symbol in some Experts' profiles. JustAnswer is not intended or designed for EMERGENCY questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals.

Tax

Have your own Tax question?

Related Tax Topics:

Question

wasnt of isnt there a new tax law regarding reporting of unrealized gains & losses for the 2008 calander year or that the broker now has to provide their clients with proper documentation of unrealized gains and losses so the client can prepare the needed schedule d tax forms

Optional Information

State/Country relating to question: Missouri

Already Tried:
this is my first question and try

Answer

Reply

Accepted Answer

Tax

Have your own Tax question?

Related Tax Topics:

Question

wasnt of isnt there a new tax law regarding reporting of unrealized gains & losses for the 2008 calander year or that the broker now has to provide their clients with proper documentation of unrealized gains and losses so the client can prepare the needed schedule d tax forms

Optional Information

State/Country relating to question: Missouri Already Tried: this is my first question and try

Answer

Reply

Accepted Answer

Related Tax Questions

State/Country relating to question: Missouri

Already Tried:
this is my first question and try