help regarding security Cost basis

Nov 15, 2007 5 Replies

Can't quite figure out how Q2006 calulates the cost basis for a security when sales are involved. I added up all the buys and sells and my number is almost double what quicken calculated.



When it subtracts sales, does it use the purchase price per share? In other words, if I paid 5/sh and sold it at 10/sh, does it subtract 5 or ten for each share sold?


Sale price has nothing to do with cost. Quicken will subtract the average cost per share (in your case, $5) times the number of shares sold.

Perhaps, optionally with mutual funds. But cost averaging is not allowed for stocks. The purchase price of the shares sold gets subtracted.

Tom

If he is selling all his shares, he is selling all his individual purchases (lots) and will have a profit or loss on each lot. This for tax purposes will get broken out into short-term or long-term gains or losses.

Oilcan

To clarify, I'm not selling all my shares, just some. They are part of a 401(k) family of securities so for now I have no tax issues. My question is for each security Quicken shows a cost basis. For those from which I have not sold any, it matches my separate records (excel). However, for those from which I have sold some shares (haven't looked at those that my investment dude liquidated) the cost basis is not correct...trying to understand why.

For tracking purposes, I use the first in first out method. Within Q, it then tracks the purchase price of each share...I will look at them to see if I can get the math (and therefore my understanding) correct.

Thanks

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