Rick Merrill wrote:
- quote -

Had I not been so amused at your seeing the error of your
ways, I might have been insulted, Dick.

And if you believe that, Rick, I've got some Net2phone stock
I'll sell you; cheap.

But Seriously, taxes is/are the major subject here, and
while we do get down to the nitty-gritty much of them time,
there's no reason we can't have a laugh or two once in a
while. After all, if you're crazy enough to be IN this
business, you need all the help you can get this time of
year.

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA
Sun 13 Mar 2005

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Barry Margolin wrote:
- quote -

While humor is 'allowed' in the newsgroup, it is a Very
Serious news group and we are not easily amused!-)

Moderator:
I was amuse because it surprised me that Harlan's
vocabulary was so extensive.

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A.G. Kalman wrote:
- quote -

Replace that "dead" word "posthumously" and substitute.

ex post facto . Is that right?

ChEAr$,
posting this humourously,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA
Wed 9 Mar 2005

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Harlan Lunsford <hlunsford[at]bellsouth.net> wrote:
- quote -

I know. I was making a joke on the previous poster's misuse
of the word "posthumously", when he meant "post facto".

--
Barry Margolin, barmar[at]alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA

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Barry Margolin wrote:
- quote -

Note: the OP asked about a sale, and not about shares
inherited.

That said, but of course you may specify which shares to
whom in your will. Or does that matter? Do they get
stepped up basis anyway? If so, DO specify and let the
legatees and their tax pros wonder just what the heck was
meant by that.

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA
Tue 8 Mar 2005

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Harlan Lunsford wrote:
- quote -

That would be a neat trick!

--
Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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Harlan Lunsford <hlunsford[at]bellsouth.net> wrote:

- quote -

You mean I can't specify the shares in my will?

--
Barry Margolin, barmar[at]alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA

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"cahzhao[at]yahoo.com" <cahzhao[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

Little late to specifically identify here. You have to do
it WHEN YOU SELL THEM.

--
David M. Woods, EA, ChFC, CLU
Woods Financial Services
Norwood, MA 02062
www.woods-financial.com

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cahzhao[at]yahoo.com wrote:

- quote -

The way the law is specified is that if you don't designate
specific shares when you sell, you're presumed to be selling
FIFO.

- quote -

Yes, you are allowed to specify those shares. But you must
do it at the time you make the sell orders. So on
2004-08-31 you had to tell your broker "Sell the shares I
bought on 2004-08-20", and get a written confirmation of
this request.

You can't do the matching after the fact, to minimize the
overall tax.

--
Barry Margolin, barmar[at]alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA

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cahzhao[at]yahoo.com wrote:

- quote -

Yes, it's allowed, as LONG as you do the matching at the
time of sale and not posthumously.

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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cahzhao[at]yahoo.com wrote:

- quote -

What you are trying to accomplish is after the fact and not
allowed. I.e., you have to inform the broker which shares
to sell before the sale takes place and obtain the broker's
confirmation. You can't make the decision yourself after
the sale has taken place.

Your 9/15/03 purchase was sold on 8/31/04 at a short term
gain.
Your 8/20/04 purchase was sold on 12/27/04 at a short term
gain.

--
Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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<cahzhao[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

....which you must.

You missed the part that says other than FIFO has to be done
at the time of sale, with confirmation from the broker.

--
Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

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cahzhao[at]yahoo.com writes:

- quote -

You can, but only if you make the specification AT
OR BEFORE the sale and have it confirmed in writing
by the broker. If not, you're stuck with FIFO.

[example snipped]

- quote -

It's not allowed after-the-fact. If you didn't make the
designation back when you sold, you're stuck with FIFO.

But if you had made proper designations and received
proper confirmation, then yes, you could have matched
things up the way you described.

--
Rich Carreiro rlcarr[at]animato.arlington.ma.us

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Hello,

I have heard that stocks are sold in a first in first out
(FIFO) order. I also heard that you can specify the order to
override the FIFO order. I have this contrived case:

2003-09-15 bought 200 shares of XYZ, cost 3080.05
2004-08-20 bought 200 shares of XYZ, cost 3480.05
2004-08-31 sold 200 shares of XYZ, proceeds 3520.05
2004-12-27 sold 200 shares of XYZ, proceeds 3680.05

If I use FIFO, then both sales are less than one year and
the two gains are considered short-term. However, if I
specify that the first 200 shares sold were bought on
20040820, then the second sale is matched with 20030915 and
that gain can now be considered as long-term since it is
held for more than a year. I am wondering whether this
non-FIFO match is allowed by the tax law. Your answer is
appreciated.

Caihong

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