Ask Globe Investor: Say I have two stocks, stock W and stock L . W is up $10,000 and L is down $5,000. If I sell half my W shares and all my L shares, I am even – no gain, no loss. I understand that the Canada Revenue Agency won’t allow me to buy L again for 30 days if I want to claim a capital loss, but what about W? Can I immediately buy the same number of shares I just sold?You have an unrealized gain of $10,000 on W.
What will change is the adjusted cost base of your W shares. If you repurchase the W shares at a higher price than you originally paid, the total cost of all of your W shares – and, hence, your average cost per share – will rise. This will reduce any future capital gain, or increase your loss, if you later decide to sell all or part of your W shares.
Stock L is a little trickier. If you sell all of your L shares, you will realize a capital loss of $5,000. This will fully offset the $5,000 realized capital gain on W, which means you will avoid capital-gains tax. However, if you repurchase the L shares within 30 days , the initial sale will be treated as a “superficial loss” for tax purposes, and you will not be able to use it to offset your capital gain on W.
In other words, while you must avoid creating a “superficial loss” in order to claim a loss for tax purposes, there is no such thing as a “superficial gain.”Turns out, the Gen Z generation has really taken a liking to investing. We’ll have some insight on what’s behind it. Plus, we’ll take a look at how artificial intelligence may change the investing landscape.