Forum Discussion
Need help with formulas calculating cost basis on shares
Hi All Was hoping to get some help in creating a trading log to track my stock purchases over time. I am stuck in not being able to get the formula for calculating my weighted average cost basis ...
What you're doing looks fine, so far as it goes.
So much depends on your goal, how precise you want to be with lots. My main question is whether or not you're doing this in a taxable account, as opposed to an IRA of some kind. If you need to be reporting capital gains to the IRS, that could have implications for how you track sales, whether or not you're able to do FIFO on the shares that are sold, etc. I have no experience with that kind of tracking--I do all my investing in a traditional IRA, so tax consequences are not a factor. I also, frankly, do not do any of the volume of buys and sells on most of the stocks or ETFs I have. Much more long-term-buy-and-hold.
Thanks Mathetes. Some IRA accounts and some taxable. I've only been doing FIFO so far - easier to work and not spending that much time trying to beat all the angles. I'm selling more now since I've retired, but generally a holder as well. Saving the IRA accounts for last at this point to keep the tax free compounding going. Thanks for looking at it.
