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posted Feb 19, 2021 6:57:37 AM

I got divorced and had to sell off and split our stocks. How do I only report half of the proceeds?

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1 Best answer
Expert Alumni
Feb 19, 2021 11:27:24 AM

In general, when dividing investments in a divorce, couples may have options: One option would be to sell investments and divvy up the proceeds. This can have tax consequences. Alternatively, you can generally split the investment holdings. For instance, if 100 shares of stock are part of the marital property to be divided in half, one party gets 50 shares and the other party gets the remaining 50 shares. The IRS allows divorcing spouses to each keep the same cost basis and holding period for an investment they already own. Cost basis is the price at which the investment was originally purchased. Holding period is important because profits from the sale of investments owned for a year or less are taxed at your ordinary income tax rate, while investments held for more than a year are taxed at lower long-term capital gains rates.

 

Basically everything is reported in half.  Cost/basis, fees and sale.

1 Replies
Expert Alumni
Feb 19, 2021 11:27:24 AM

In general, when dividing investments in a divorce, couples may have options: One option would be to sell investments and divvy up the proceeds. This can have tax consequences. Alternatively, you can generally split the investment holdings. For instance, if 100 shares of stock are part of the marital property to be divided in half, one party gets 50 shares and the other party gets the remaining 50 shares. The IRS allows divorcing spouses to each keep the same cost basis and holding period for an investment they already own. Cost basis is the price at which the investment was originally purchased. Holding period is important because profits from the sale of investments owned for a year or less are taxed at your ordinary income tax rate, while investments held for more than a year are taxed at lower long-term capital gains rates.

 

Basically everything is reported in half.  Cost/basis, fees and sale.