Neither. A wash sale is added to the basis of the next purchase.
A wash sale means you were buying and selling the same security within a disallowed time frame (30 days of the sale) and the loss is added to the basis of the stock you bought.
Your brokerage may or may not be keeping up with your wash sale losses and your basis. You should be doing that.
Example:
Buy ABC 100 shares for $4,000 - date irrelevant
Sell ABC 100 shares April 1 for $2,000 0 could be a $2k loss
Buy ABC 50 shares April 28 for $1,200
A purchase between April 2 and May 1, that is 30 days either side of the sale, you have a wash sale. So the wash is added to the basis and the most recent purchase is your purchase date.
However, only half the shares were purchased. So half is a loss and half is a wash.
Now, basis is $2,200, purchase date is April 28.
Half the shares reported as sold for $1k loss
**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"
