Can buying then selling a portion of stock on the same day trigger a wash sale?
So this morning I bought 200 shares of NVDA at $50 each ($10,000 total) and then panicked when it started dropping a few hours later. I ended up selling 100 shares at $45 each ($4,500 total), taking a $500 loss on those shares. Now I'm confused about whether I've accidentally created a wash sale situation for myself. Would this count as a wash sale with a disallowed $500 short-term loss? And if so, would that mean adding $5 to the basis of each of my remaining 100 shares? I've been reading IRS publications but they're not super clear on partial sell-offs that happen on the same day as the purchase. Anyone dealt with this before?
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Oliver Fischer
The good news is you don't have a wash sale in this scenario! Wash sales only occur when you sell at a loss and then repurchase the same or substantially identical security within 30 days before or after the sale date. Since you bought all shares first and then sold some of them, you haven't repurchased anything after selling at a loss. What you have is simply a realized $500 short-term capital loss on the 100 shares you sold. The remaining 100 shares maintain their original cost basis of $50 per share. The IRS doesn't consider this a wash sale because the sequence matters - you need to sell at a loss first, then buy back similar shares within that 61-day window (30 days before, day of sale, 30 days after).
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Natasha Ivanova
•But what if OP buys more NVDA within 30 days after this sale? Would that trigger the wash sale rule on the 100 shares they sold at a loss?
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Oliver Fischer
•Yes, that's an important point. If OP buys any NVDA shares within 30 days after their sale (or if they had purchased additional shares in the 30 days before the sale), then the wash sale rule would apply to those 100 shares sold at a loss. In that scenario, the $500 loss would be disallowed as a current deduction and would instead be added to the cost basis of the replacement shares. This is why timing matters so much with wash sales - it's not just about same-day transactions but about that full 61-day window.
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NebulaNomad
After getting stuck in a similar situation last year, I found this amazing tool at https://taxr.ai that helped analyze all my stock transactions and identified which ones were actually wash sales. Saved me so much time trying to figure it all out manually! They have a specific feature that analyzes your trading history and flags potential wash sales automatically. The tool was super helpful for my situation where I had multiple trades of the same stock across different brokerages (Fidelity and Robinhood) and couldn't easily track what counted as a wash sale. I just uploaded my trading history and it sorted everything out.
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Javier Garcia
•Does it work with data from all brokerages? I trade on TD Ameritrade and have a ton of transactions I need to sort through before filing.
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Emma Taylor
•Sounds interesting but can it handle complicated scenarios like options trading or inverse ETFs that might be "substantially identical"? The IRS rules on what counts as "substantially identical" are incredibly vague.
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NebulaNomad
•Yes, it works with all major brokerages including TD Ameritrade. You can export your transaction history as a CSV file and upload it directly to the platform, or in some cases connect your brokerage account for automatic syncing. For complicated scenarios like options and ETFs, it actually has specialized analysis for determining "substantially identical" securities based on current IRS interpretations. It flags potential gray areas where the rules are ambiguous so you can make an informed decision about how to report them. It's way more sophisticated than I expected.
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Javier Garcia
I was skeptical at first, but I tried https://taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was a game-changer for my tax situation. I had about 300+ trades last year and was completely overwhelmed trying to figure out which ones triggered wash sales. The tool identified 8 wash sales I completely missed that would have caused issues if the IRS had flagged them. The best part was how it explained each wash sale in plain English and showed exactly how to adjust my cost basis. Definitely using it again this year since I traded even more frequently!
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Malik Robinson
If you're still confused about wash sales and need help sorting through everything, I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to an actual IRS agent. I had a complicated wash sale question similar to yours that none of the online forums could answer clearly. After trying for days to reach someone at the IRS with no luck, I used Claimyr and got connected to an agent within 30 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent walked me through exactly how to handle my specific situation and even emailed me the relevant tax code sections afterward.
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Isabella Silva
•Wait, this actually works? I've tried calling the IRS dozens of times and always get the "due to high call volume" message before getting disconnected. How much does this service cost?
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Ravi Choudhury
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Malik Robinson
•Yes, it absolutely works! The service doesn't actually "skip" the line - what it does is automate the calling process. It continuously redials the IRS when lines are busy and then calls you once it gets through to a human. It saves you from having to manually redial for hours. Regarding the skepticism, I felt the same way before trying it. The technology is pretty straightforward - it's essentially an automated dialer that holds your place in line. The IRS doesn't know or care that a service is calling on your behalf since you're the one who ultimately speaks with the agent.
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Ravi Choudhury
I need to eat my words from yesterday. After being completely frustrated with trying to get IRS help on a similar wash sale question, I broke down and tried Claimyr. Got connected to an actual IRS tax specialist in about 45 minutes who answered all my questions about partial sales and wash rules. The agent confirmed exactly what the first commenter said - buying shares and then selling some at a loss on the same day doesn't create a wash sale by itself. The thing to watch out for is any additional purchases within 30 days after the sale. Honestly wish I'd known about this service years ago instead of spending days trying to get through.
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CosmosCaptain
One thing nobody's mentioned yet is broker reporting. Even if you technically don't have a wash sale according to IRS rules, some brokerages will still report it as one on your 1099-B if you sell and buy within the same day. My broker (E*Trade) did this to me last year and it was a nightmare to correct. Be sure to check your 1099-B carefully when you get it and don't just blindly trust what's reported there. Sometimes you need to make adjustments on your Schedule D and Form 8949.
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Amina Sy
•That's actually a really good point that I hadn't considered. I'm using Schwab - do you know if they tend to handle same-day trades correctly on their tax forms?
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CosmosCaptain
•Schwab is generally pretty good about reporting wash sales correctly, but they're not perfect. The problem is that brokers use automated systems to flag wash sales, and these systems sometimes apply the rules too broadly. The best practice is to keep your own detailed records of all trades and compare them against what's reported on your 1099-B. If there's a discrepancy, you can file Form 8949 with a code W to indicate you're adjusting what was reported on the 1099-B. It's a bit of extra work, but it ensures you're not paying more tax than you need to.
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Freya Johansen
The comments about brokers reporting is spot on. Fidelity flagged several of my trades as wash sales when they technically weren't. Their system seems to just automatically flag any loss followed by a purchase within 30 days regardless of other factors. When I called them about it, they said "we report what our system flags, it's up to you and your tax advisor to make adjustments on your return if needed" which wasn't helpful at all.
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Omar Fawzi
•Yeah this gets even more complicated if you have multiple accounts across different brokers. The IRS wash sale rule applies across ALL your accounts (even retirement accounts!) but brokers only look at activity within their own platform.
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Zoe Christodoulou
This is a great discussion! Just wanted to add something I learned from my CPA last year - even though your same-day buy/sell scenario doesn't trigger a wash sale, you should definitely document the timeline clearly in your records. The key detail is that you bought ALL 200 shares first, then sold 100 at a loss. If you had done multiple separate buy orders throughout the day mixed with sell orders, the wash sale analysis could get more complex. The IRS looks at each "lot" of shares and when they were acquired versus when they were sold. Also, since you're holding the remaining 100 shares, just be extra careful about any future NVDA purchases in the next 30 days. Even buying just 1 share could trigger the wash sale rule on your previous $500 loss. I made that mistake once and had to adjust my cost basis calculations later.
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