Do you have to report a capital gain from selling a car, if you buy a car the same year and end up with a capital loss?

[user142922567]

A car I sold in May was a present, so I had a capital gain on it. But in November of the same year I bought a car and it was more than the profit from the selling of the car in May. Do I have to report any gains or any losses? And does it come with the free edition on turbo tax, or a deluxe version has to be used? 

[MinhT · Accepted solution]

The car you received as a present is a gift. Gifts are not taxable and you do not have to report them on your tax return. Your cost basis for this car is not zero, but the cost basis of the donor (what the donor bought it for). You only have a gain on that car only if you sold the car for more than what the donor paid for it (which is unlikely in most cases).

The new car that you bought in November is personal property. When you sell it, you have a gain if you sell for more than the purchase price and have to report that gain as capital gain. If you sell it for less than the purchase, you have a capital loss and capital losses on personal property are not deductible.