Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Tax Strategies for Stock Losses

If you're wondering how to best take advantage of stock losses on your income tax returns, then read this article for some good tips.

Other than simply selling shares at a loss and taking the loss on your return, the article also mentions taking advantage of reduced share prices to:
  1. Gift shares to children or grandchildren
  2. Sell inherited stock with a low basis to minimize taxable income
  3. Minimize the tax hit from converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA
Don't forget that to the extent that capital losses exceed capital gains, you can only deduct $3000 each year against other income. The rest of the loss has to be carried forward to the next year.