RxPC, Inc. (fka RxPC, Inc.)

[izzay]

Thought I'd share this info for anyone interested:

Taking a tax loss on a stock:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/edit/news/stories/20001025a.asp

Short-term losses counterbalance those expensive short-term gains. What's left at the end of Section I of Schedule D is the net short-term capital gain or loss. If there were no gains, then obviously the net would equal the total loss.
• Long-term losses are applied to long-term gains. The result, at the end of Section II of Schedule D, is the net long-term capital gain or loss. Again, if you only have a loss, then the net is a negative number.
• Next, you combine the short-term and long-term results. At this point, a loss in one section can offset a gain in the other section. For example, if you have a net short-term loss of $1,000 and a net long-term gain of $1,200, then you'll pay tax on only $200.
• If the total is a gain, you'll be paying taxes on that.
• If there's still a loss, you can deduct up to $3,000 from other income.
• If you had a really bad year and ended up with a net loss of more than $3,000, you can carry forward the leftover portion to next year's taxes. The unused loss can be applied to next year's gains as well as up to $3,000 of earned income. A big loss can be used as a deduction indefinitely -- another important reason to keep good records.