yes and no. from a practical standpoint yes. you buy you sell from a tax standpoint usually no. however, buying and holding certain securities can result in the IRA having unrelated business income which would require the trustee to file a tax form (990-T) and pay taxes if the amount is over $1000. this happens most often with partnership investments like MLP's. from a tax standpoint, any gain or loss on the sale of a security inside an IRA generally has no effect on an individual's tax return. There is an exception. if you sell a security outside an IRA at a loss and inside the IRA you acquire substantially identical securities within 30 days before or after the loss sale, you have a personal wash sale. this is the worse kind because the loss is disallowed on your 1040 and there is no increase in basis for the wash sale loss.
