IRA Mutual Fund Swap

Randeo

In my Dreyfus IRA account, I swapped an underperforming mutual fund for a new one. Because it's an IRA, I did not sell the old one and buy the new one. It's not a taxable transaction. How do I enter this correctly? Have searched but didn't find this exact question.

q_lurker

You sold the old one and bought the new one.  Being in an IRA is irrelevant.  The IRA account will by default be excluded from any capital gains tax reports or related information.

q_lurker

You sold the old one and bought the new one.  Being in an IRA is irrelevant.  The IRA account will by default be excluded from any capital gains tax reports or related information.

Randeo

Thanks q_lurker. That was the only way I could find to do it. Appreciate it

Randeo

Is there a way to track the basis of the account from the date is was opened, instead of Quicken showing the basis of the different mutual funds that have been in the account? Entering it as a buy/sell transaction, Quicken will now show the profit or loss from the date I purchased the latest mutual fund, not the date I opened the account.

NotACPA

Manually, or in a spreadsheet, is the only way to do this.

When you sold the 1st security you had a return of capital and a capital gain (or loss). You used that money to buy the 2nd security and start a new string of "returns".

IF you only made a single deposit into the IRA, you can simply divide the current value by that initial amount.  Otherwise, it gets quite complicated.

Randeo

Thanks for the quick response and I'm sure your answer is correct. Because it's an IRA account I can also just look at the original contributions for those years.

Jim_Harman

You must be careful when you say "basis". Cost basis is used to compute capital gains and and may be different from the total amount you deposited in the account.

For example, your cost basis goes up when dividends are reinvested, even though you did not make any contribution.

Likewise, Quicken's "Amount Invested" number is useful mainly as a component of other calculations and not for tracking your total or net additions to the account.

q_lurker

No guarantee this is what you want, but I suggest you look at an Investment Performance Report with a date starting just before you opened the account.  Include all securities.  Limit to this account or subtotal by account.  Beginning Market value will be $0 for this account.  All your additions to the account from outside the account should appear in the Investments column.  

quick2007

> @NotACPA said:
> Manually, or in a spreadsheet, is the only way to do this.When you sold the 1st security you had a return of capital and a capital gain (or loss). You used that money to buy the 2nd security and start a new string of "returns".IF you only made a single deposit into the IRA, you can simply divide the current value by that initial amount.  Otherwise, it gets quite complicated.

It is bizarre that despite how powerful Quicken is, there is no clean/quick way to determine the difference between "Amounts contributed" and "Current Value." This is the very definition of ROI.