I used to have a joint
brokerage account with my ex-boyfriend. When we broke-up 4 years ago,
he wrote me a check for the value of the stock at the time, and in
exchange, I removed my name from the account. However, I was a little
naive and did not know too much about stocks at the time. From the
time we bought the shares, to the time I removed my name, the shares
had gone down more than 50%, which reprensented a loss of $7,000 per
person. At the time, I did not know that you could get a tax credit in
such a case,

and knowing that I was in a 40% bracket at the time, I
should have saved $2,800 on my taxes. Is there anything that can be
done? With the IRS maybe?

On 15 Mar 2004 21:32:24 -0800, gm_1924@yahoo.com (georgia) wrote:
Not a tax credit, but a capital loss deduction against other income.
Four years ago was 2000, which means that if you settled with your
boyfriend in 2000 then the return was due April 15 of 2001, which
means that the statute of limitations for a refund claim could run out
on 4/15/2004. (The statute of limitations on refund claims is either
3 years from the date the return was filed or 2 years from the date
the tax was paid, whichever is later, and a return is considered to be
filed on 4/15 if filed early.)
So you could file a Form 1040X with a new Schedule D showing capital
losses for the one-half interest in the stocks you sold to your
boyfriend, provided you file the amended return within three years of
the original return.
Except that a capital loss deduction against ordinary income is
limited to $3,000, so your losses are limited to $3,000 in 2000 and
you'll have to file an amended to return for 2001 as well in order to
claim the carry-forward.
*Dan Evans
*"One is not superior merely because one
*sees the world as odious."
*Francios Rene de Chateaubriand (1768-1848).