Gyroscopic Investing

The GLD ETF I bought in January in my taxable account is still down about 3.7% as of this morning...

If I sold those shares for a loss before the end of the year, could I then use the money to buy gold coins and get a tax write-off for the loss or is that considered a "like-kind" exchange?

PP67 wrote: The GLD ETF I bought in January in my taxable account is still down about 3.7% as of this morning...

If I sold those shares for a loss before the end of the year, could I then use the money to buy gold coins and get a tax write-off for the loss or is that considered a "like-kind" exchange?

If its not within 30 days per the wash sale rule you should be safe.

Just wait 31 days. That way there is no question about it. That's what I generally do for tax loss harvesting if it presents itself. The rules are so clear that there is no debating it at that point.

Thanks for all your comments... Just to complicate things, some of the GLD I bought on 1/4/2012 that now shows a profit and some on 1/30/2012 that now shows a loss...  Combined they show just a slight loss.  If I sell just some of the total shares, do I just use an average cost basis to compute the loss?

PP67 wrote: Thanks for all your comments... Just to complicate things, some of the GLD I bought on 1/4/2012 that now shows a profit and some on 1/30/2012 that now shows a loss...  Combined they show just a slight loss.  If I sell just some of the total shares, do I just use an average cost basis to compute the loss?

Personally, unless that tax loss is approaching -10% or so in an asset, I leave it alone. It's usually not worth the hassle (as you are finding out) and the price may just recover during all the in/out gyrations and you could miss a gain.

BUT, talk to someone who knows your tax situation before doing anything that could result in a tax bill, please...