I'm not sure if the wash sale rule applies. Here's my situation:
- 5/23/2019 and earlier - "bought" (RSU vest) many shares and did not sell most of them; no activity until next item
- 8/21/2019 "bought" 675 shares (RSU vest), automatically selling 187 shares to cover taxes (the shares to cover were "bought" and sold at same price, so no gain or loss there)
- 8/29/2019 sold the remaining 488 shares that were granted on 8/21 at a loss (say $1500, yeah rough week); no activity until next item
- 11/20/2019 "bought" 675 shares (RSU vest)
Since the 8/21 "purchase" was within 30 days of the 8/29 sale, I guess the 8/29 loss is a wash sale. But reading "When the Rule Does Not Apply" in wash rule article at Zacks, it might not be one after all. So is the 8/29 sale a wash sale?
If the 8/29 sale is a wash sale, I'd think the disallowed basis would get added to the basis for the purchase that made it a wash sale -- the 8/21 purchase. But if I add the basis there, I get credit for the loss on 8/29 after all, because the 8/29 sale is made up entirely of shares "bought" on 8/21. That seems like exactly what the wash sale rule is supposed to disallow. So, to which transaction's basis should I add the loss?
