Small $1.02 stock loss is driving me crazy - Do I need to amend my tax return?

You're definitely overthinking this! The IRS is not going to come after you for a $1.02 capital loss that you failed to report. They have much bigger fish to fry. When you report capital losses, they offset capital gains or up to $3,000 of ordinary income. In your case, that $1.02 loss would have reduced your taxable income by... $1.02. At most tax brackets, you're talking about 10-24 cents in actual tax difference. The IRS has a materiality threshold, and this is far below anything they would ever care about. The cost of processing an amended return (both for you and the IRS) far exceeds any benefit. Save yourself the stress and just include any future investment activity on next year's return.

I was in a similar situation last year with some investments that went south, except my loss was around $200. I was also stressed about getting everything perfect on my return. I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) when I was looking for help with interpreting my brokerage statements correctly. It saved me so much anxiety! I uploaded my documents and it explained exactly what I needed to report and where. For small losses like yours, they confirmed what others are saying - it's completely immaterial and wouldn't affect your tax situation in any meaningful way. Their analysis actually helped me identify some deductions I was missing elsewhere too!

I ended up trying taxr.ai after my skepticism in the previous comment. Wish I had known about this sooner! My situation with multiple 1099s was way more complex than the original poster's $1 loss, and it spotted a discrepancy between one of my 1099-B forms and what my brokerage was showing online. Saved me from what could have been a real headache. For something tiny like a $1 loss, you're definitely fine - but for anyone with actual complicated tax documents, this tool is surprisingly helpful. I'm normally cynical about these services but it actually delivered.

Your $1.02 loss reminds me of when I had to call the IRS about a similar small discrepancy last year. Spent 4+ hours on hold and never got through! Eventually found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent I spoke with literally laughed when I explained I was worried about a $5 discrepancy. She said they don't pursue these tiny amounts and it wouldn't trigger any flags. Saved me from filing an amended return for no reason. Might be helpful if you're still worried and want official confirmation from the IRS themselves.

I'm back to eat my words about Claimyr. After dismissing it as a scam, I decided to try it when I couldn't resolve an issue with a missing tax document. After three failed attempts calling the IRS directly (got disconnected twice after 2+ hour waits), I was connected to an agent in about 20 minutes using their service. The agent confirmed exactly what everyone here is saying - they don't care about amounts under $10, let alone $1.02. They have a materiality threshold and don't pursue insignificant amounts. For what it's worth, the IRS agent said my concern about a small error was actually more common than you'd think among first-time filers.

Former tax preparer here. We literally wouldn't even bother correcting something this small on a client's return. The IRS has what's called a "de minimis" rule (basically meaning "too small to matter") for exactly this kind of situation. For perspective: the IRS processes over 150 million individual tax returns annually. They don't have the resources to chase down dollar-level discrepancies. If your return is off by a few hundred dollars they might send a letter, but $1.02? Not a chance. Sleep easy and remember this experience next year!

Lol when I first started filing my taxes I was exactly like this! I forgot to include a $3 dividend payment and was convinced I was going to jail 😂 Trust me, the IRS doesn't care. I now realize how ridiculous I was being. Actually a tax guy told me once that if you tried to amend for something this small, it would literally cost the government more to process your amended return than any tax they'd collect. Just file correctly next year and move on.