Wash sales | Robinhood

Wash sales

If you sell or trade stock or securities at a loss, and then within 30 calendar days do one of the following, you’ve executed a wash sale:

  • Buy or acquire substantially identical stock or securities as a taxable trade
  • Acquire a contract or option to buy substantially identical stock or securities
  • Acquire substantially identical stock for your retirement account (traditional or Roth IRA)

Wash sales apply across all your brokerage accounts, including outside your Robinhood accounts. Keep in mind, the wash-sale window applies to purchases 30 days before and after selling for a loss. Including the day of sale, which equals a 61-day window.

The IRS prohibits taxpayers from claiming losses from wash sales for tax purposes. You can find your total wash sales for the year in Box 1G on your 1099 tax document.

Example

An example of a wash sale is if you:

  • Purchase 100 shares of MEOW for $1,000
  • 2 weeks later, sell them for $800
  • 2 weeks after the sale, you repurchase 100 new shares of MEOW for $900
  • 2 weeks after the repurchase, you sell that 100 MEOW shares for $1,300

Because of the wash sale rule, the $200 loss is disallowed and added to the cost basis of the repurchased shares. When you sell the repurchased shares any gain or loss from this trade is based on a cost of $1,100. ($900 original cost + $200 disallowed loss).

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What does substantially similar mean?

Unfortunately, there’s no specific definition for what substantially similar or identical holdings mean. We recommend consulting a tax professional to help determine if your holdings are substantially similar or identical. Check out the IRS Publication 550 for more information.

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Brokerage services are offered through Robinhood Financial LLC, (RHF) a registered broker dealer (member SIPC) and clearing services through Robinhood Securities, LLC, (RHS) a registered broker dealer (member SIPC). Cryptocurrency services are offered through Robinhood Crypto, LLC (RHC) (NMLS ID: 1702840). Robinhood Crypto is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services. The Robinhood spending account is offered through Robinhood Money, LLC (RHY) (NMLS ID: 1990968), a licensed money transmitter. A list of our licenses has more information. The Robinhood Cash Card is a prepaid card issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Mastercard®. Mastercard and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated. RHF, RHY, RHC and RHS are affiliated entities and wholly owned subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc. RHF, RHY, RHC and RHS are not banks. Products offered by RHF are not FDIC insured and involve risk, including possible loss of principal. RHC is not a member of FINRA and accounts are not FDIC insured or protected by SIPC. RHY is not a member of FINRA, and products are not subject to SIPC protection, but funds held in the Robinhood spending account and Robinhood Cash Card account may be eligible for FDIC pass-through insurance (review the Robinhood Cash Card Agreement and the Robinhood Spending Account Agreement).

Options trading entails significant risk and is not appropriate for all customers. Customers must read and understand the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options before engaging in any options trading strategies. Options transactions are often complex and may involve the potential of losing the entire investment in a relatively short period of time. Certain complex options strategies carry additional risk, including the potential for losses that may exceed the original investment amount.

Commission-free trading of stocks, ETFs and options refers to $0 commissions for Robinhood Financial self-directed individual cash or margin brokerage accounts that trade U.S. listed securities and certain OTC securities electronically. Keep in mind, other fees such as trading (non-commission) fees, Gold subscription fees, wire transfer fees, and paper statement fees may apply to your brokerage account. Check out Robinhood Financial’s Fee Schedule for details.

© 2023 Robinhood. All rights reserved.