How do I find a stock's cost basis?
If you know when the stock was purchased, here are some tips:
Sign in to your brokerage account
Although your broker may not include your basis on your 1099-B, it doesn't necessarily mean they don't have it.
If your current broker was the selling agent, there's usually a wealth of documentation available in your online brokerage account that can help, such as detailed reports on each sale.
Look at previous broker statements
Review your records for the trade confirmation when you bought the shares.
It's always a good idea to save these for tax purposes.
If you purchased the stock at different times or haven't sold all the shares at once, you may have more than one trade confirmation statement.
Contact your brokerage firm
Your broker should have a record of the purchase, if you bought the stock from them.
If not, they might still be able and willing to look up the historical stock price for you.
Go online for historical stock prices
For example, view the historical section at Marketwatch or Nasdaq. It's generally acceptable to take the lowest and highest prices from a given day and average them to arrive at a cost. It's also acceptable to use the closing price on the day of purchase.
These free services may not include events that affect basis, such as reinvested dividends, spin-offs, and stock splits.
Go directly to the source
Many companies have an investor relations section on their website that contains historical stock data. You can also call the company's shareholder services department for help.
For shares purchased more than 10 years ago, go to a public library or law school library and look for back issues of newspapers, such as USA Today, to find the high and low price on the date of purchase.
