Avail Tax Deductions & Exemptions On Stock Investments (2024)

FAQs

Are my stock investments tax deductible? ›

The IRS allows you to deduct from your taxable income a capital loss, for example, from a stock or other investment that has lost money. Here are the ground rules: An investment loss has to be realized. In other words, you need to have sold your stock to claim a deduction.

An investment of up to Rs. 1 lakh gets deduction under Section 80C. An investment of up to 10% of the basic salary is eligible for further deduction under Section 80CCD(2). No tax incidence while switching from one fund option to another or from one fund manager to another.

What qualifies for deduction. The deduction applies to interest on money borrowed to buy property that will produce investment income—interest, dividends, annuities or royalties—or that you expect to appreciate in value, allowing you to sell it at a gain in the future.

If you treat your income as capital gains, expenses incurred on such transfer are allowed for deduction. Also, long-term gains from equity above Rs 1 lakh annually are taxable at 10%, while short-term gains are taxed at 15%.

If you own a stock where the company has declared bankruptcy and the stock has become worthless, you can generally deduct the full amount of your loss on that stock — up to annual IRS limits with the ability to carry excess losses forward to future years.

If your net losses in your taxable investment accounts exceed your net gains for the year, you will have no reportable income from your security sales. You may then write off up to $3,000 worth of net losses against other forms of income such as wages or taxable dividends and interest for the year.

The exemption limit is Rs. 3,00,000 for resident individual of the age of 60 years or above but below 80 years. The exemption limit is Rs. 2,50,000 for resident individual of the age below 60 years.

You may have to pay capital gains tax on stocks sold for a profit. Any profit you make from selling a stock is taxable at either 0%, 15% or 20% if you held the shares for more than a year. If you held the shares for a year or less, you'll be taxed at your ordinary tax rate.

The IRS does not allow you to write off transaction fees, such as brokerage fees and commissions, when you buy or sell stocks. Instead, you can add the amount of those fees to the purchase price of your stock. The purchase price plus the cost to acquire your stock equals your cost basis.

Which investment expenses are not deductible? ›

Advisory and other investment fees charged on registered assets, regardless of the investments held, are not tax deductible. However, you have the option to pay the investment fees charged on a registered account from the registered account itself or from outside the account.

If you have borrowed on margin or against other assets such as your home to invest in stocks or bonds, you may be able to claim a deduction for the interest you pay each year. Your deduction is limited to the amount of investment income you have for the year, which includes interest and dividends.

If you own securities, including stocks, and they become totally worthless, you have a capital loss but not a deduction for bad debt. Worthless securities also include securities that you abandon.

Your income or loss is the difference between the amount you paid for the stock (the purchase price) and the amount you receive when you sell it. You generally treat this amount as capital gain or loss, but you may also have ordinary income to report. You must account for and report this sale on your tax return.

Stocks sold at a loss can be used to offset capital gains. You can also offset up to $3,000 a year of ordinary income. A silver lining of investment losses is that you can lower your tax liability as a result.

Gain from sales of shares is regarded as assessable income. Dividend is regarded as assessable income. Loss from trading can be deemed as tax deduction. Cost incurred for selling or buying of shares are same as the cost of running a business operation and hence can be claimed as a tax deduction.