Selling stock

[sslind]

What are things to consider when you're ready to sell stock? Since it was already taxed as income when vested, do we get taxed again?

[RobertB4444]

What was taxed as income when vested was the cost of the stock to you.  Hopefully you saved all that documentation.  What you 'paid' for the stock is your basis in it.  

When you sell the stock your basis is subtracted from the sale price.  

If you have a negative number you have a loss which can be used to reduce your taxable income.  

If you have a positive number you have a gain.  The gain is either regular income (if it is a year or less since you vested) or long term capital gains income (if it is more than a year since you vested).  Either way you are taxed on that gain or profit from the sale.  

You aren't being taxed on the same thing twice.

@sslind 

[sslind]

How do you account for the original sale price if you're vesting quarterly and stocks are lumped into one pool? When you go to sale, does it reflect the price of the last group to vest (or the previous quarter's price)?

[AmyC]

1. The original sales price? You only sell the stock once and it should be on the 1099-B with the date and proceeds. The basis is the problem discussed above. 

2. I think you are asking if this is LIFO, FIFO or are you choosing lots. When you sold the stock, did you tell the broker which set of stocks to sell? If so, use those lots. If not, FIFO, First In First Out or first purchased, first sold. This would mean your oldest stocks would be sold. Use that basis for the sale.