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Sale Expenses from the Sale of Stocks

1 min read


1 min read


Sale expenses are expenses associated with the sale of a stock. Typical sale expenses include:

  • Broker’s commissions
  • Transfer taxes
  • Option premiums

Since you don’t have to pay taxes on money you pay to execute a sale, sale expenses will either:

  • Reduce the capital gain on the sale
  • Increase the capital loss on the sale

Your broker will send you a Form 1099-B or a similar statement. This reports the amount you received from the sale. Your 1099-B should also tell you if the amount reported is the net sales price. In most cases, your 1099-B will show the net sales price.

If the amount reported is the net sales price, you won’t need to make any adjustments when you report the sale. This applies since the broker deducted sale expenses from the amount reported.

If your Form 1099-B doesn’t show the net sales price, you need to adjust the cost of the stock. Adjust the cost by adding to it any sale expenses you paid.

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