I found the calculator at cost basis tools . com matched the results using the numbers TD Ameritrade provides upon further checking. They don't have GBTC yet. I would personally trust it for GLD and SLV.
(Updated 4-19-2023)
Again, to be clear you have to report:
1. The capital gain/loss due to metal (or bitcoin for GBTC) on each lot of GLD or SLV shares. EACH of those trusts sells what they hold to pay themselves, as I explained a couple of years ago (see above). The IRS expects you to declare a gain or loss on that expense! Yes, seems twisted, but true.
2. You then adjust your total gold/silver/bitcoin held in the trust at the end of the year by the amount they spend on fees. (You determine your starting amount on the DAY you bought each lot from the PDF they have on their site.)
3. You also adjust your cost basis DOWN each year such that the eventual gain you report (if it goes up) will be greater or your loss will be less. I explain how to calc. that below.
4. You have to distinguish short vs. long term gains/losses if that applies. If you are more than a year from the purchase of a lot, they are LT gains/losses. Before then, they would be short term and that may occur in the middle of the year of course, if you bought that lot in June for ex.
5. To be accurate, you also have to calculate the partial months at the start and finish if that applies. If you buy a lot mid-month and sell it mid-month, that applies. It will reduce the proceeds number and increase the amount of metal you own vs. holding it for all of the June you bought it and all of some future June.
The explanation for all the above detail is spelled out for GBTC here (and should apply t o GLD/SLV too), but I am not an accountant and don't play one on TV. 😉
https://grayscale.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Grayscale-BTC-Annual-Reporting-12.31.22-Final.pdf
The spreadsheet model I shared previously in this thread works (see above). But if you have to deal with an entire year, you can simply add all the gold sales (or silver etc.) to adjust the...
COST BASIS (=[gold amount sold (add up all the months) / prior gold amount owned before the fees] X prior Cost Basis (meaning at end of prior year for ex., not the original buy date) is the NEW adjusted dollar Cost Basis of what you own that you carry to the next year.
The dollar values of those sales (to get total PROCEEDS) you get by multiplying the SUM of the monthly numbers the ETF managers provide by the number of shares you hold in each lot.
You do NOT adjust the cost basis by the proceeds directly as they are based on all sorts of different prices. You have to know how much of your gold you "lost" in fees to adjust the cost basis (formula I just shared).
Each time period refers back to the end values for Cost Basis in dollars and the metal amount owned (GLD and SLV) or bitcoin owned (in GBTC) by you. As they spend your "Stuff," your cost basis falls and fees generate losses or gains depending on whether the price is higher or lower than your cost basis.
As I've said, I'm not an accountant and don't even play one on TV, so the above is only my best take on the information I have access to. I believe it's right, but you can always check with an accountant or a tax person on this site to verify it further. 😉
