Wash Sales – Applied to Options

More specifically, the wash-sale rule states that the tax loss will be disallowed if you buy the same security, a contract or option to buy the security, or a “substantially identical” security, within 30 days before or after the date you sold the loss-generating investment (it’s a 61-day window).

Do you lose money on a wash sale?

The wash-sale rule prohibits selling an investment for a loss and replacing it with the same or a “substantially identical” investment 30 days before or after the sale. If you do have a wash sale, the IRS will not allow you to write off the investment loss which could make your taxes for the year higher than you hoped.

Is wash sale 30 or 60 days?

Normally, a wash-sale takes a period of 60 days, including 30 days before the sale and another 30 days after the sale. The wash-rule is a regulation of IRS that prevents unfair tax deductions on securities sold in wash sales.

What is not a wash sale?

If you own an individual stock that experienced a loss, you can avoid a wash sale by making an additional purchase of the stock and then waiting 31 days to sell those shares that have a loss.