Capital Gains

I transferred my account from one brokerage to another. Quicken is counting the transfer as a capital gain. How do I correct this?

Best Answers

  • Boatnmaniac
    Boatnmaniac SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2021 Answer ✓
    Two questions:
    1. What kind of investment accounts are these?  Taxable brokerages or tax-deferred/tax-exempt accounts?
    2. What kind of transactions does your brokerages show for the transfer?  Were the securities first sold and then cash was transferred or were the securities themselves transferred?

    (Quicken Classic Premier Subscription: R54.16 on Windows 11)

  • Mark1104
    Mark1104 Member ✭✭✭✭
    Answer ✓
    another idea: when I've transferred accounts from one brokerage to another, I assume in Quicken that the new brokerage simply 'took over' the account, so I delete all the transfer out (or "sold") transactions from the sending brokerage and delete all the transfer in (or 'buy") transactions from the receiving brokerage that relate specifically to the transfer.  that way Quicken is in balance with the new brokerage and none of the performance reports are impacted by the change in brokerage. 
  • Boatnmaniac
    Boatnmaniac SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    Answer ✓
    Well, if the transactions are entered into the old brokerage account as Sells (to support the Buys in the new account) that certainly would explain why you are seeing cap gains.  It does seem odd that those transactions would be recorded as Sell/Buy transactions when typically if the shares were transferred the investment companies simply record them as Remove Shares and Add Shares transactions.
    So, you could change the transactions in your registers to Delete Shares & Add Shares transactions which should eliminate the cap gains issue. 
    Another option would be to delete the Sell and Buy transactions involved in the transfer between brokerages. Then enter Shares Transferred Between Accounts transaction (you can do one transaction to transfer all securities) in the old brokerage account register.  I prefer this one because it will transfer all the lot history and cost basis from the old account to the new account.
    And, yes, Quicken will not let you delete a security when there are still some shares held of it.  Most often the shares are small fractional share quantities.  Need to remove those holdings of it and then the security can be deleted.

    (Quicken Classic Premier Subscription: R54.16 on Windows 11)

Answers

  • Boatnmaniac
    Boatnmaniac SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2021 Answer ✓
    Two questions:
    1. What kind of investment accounts are these?  Taxable brokerages or tax-deferred/tax-exempt accounts?
    2. What kind of transactions does your brokerages show for the transfer?  Were the securities first sold and then cash was transferred or were the securities themselves transferred?

    (Quicken Classic Premier Subscription: R54.16 on Windows 11)

  • doverjohnson
    doverjohnson Member ✭✭
    Taxable Brokerages.
    The securities themselves transferred.
    I'm try to keep from going back and printing out the statements and then reentering them into Quicken. Quicken does not like changes.
  • Boatnmaniac
    Boatnmaniac SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    What kind of transactions are in your account registers?  Shares transferred?  Or Remove Shares/Add Shares?  Or....?
    Also, I'm not sure what you mean by "Quicken does not like changes."   Care to expand upon that some?

    (Quicken Classic Premier Subscription: R54.16 on Windows 11)

  • doverjohnson
    doverjohnson Member ✭✭
    The accounts are listed as bought instead of transferred.

    Sometimes, for example, if I try to delete a stock Quicken will not let me. Not really a problem, more of an irritant.
  • Mark1104
    Mark1104 Member ✭✭✭✭
    Answer ✓
    another idea: when I've transferred accounts from one brokerage to another, I assume in Quicken that the new brokerage simply 'took over' the account, so I delete all the transfer out (or "sold") transactions from the sending brokerage and delete all the transfer in (or 'buy") transactions from the receiving brokerage that relate specifically to the transfer.  that way Quicken is in balance with the new brokerage and none of the performance reports are impacted by the change in brokerage. 
  • Boatnmaniac
    Boatnmaniac SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    Answer ✓
    Well, if the transactions are entered into the old brokerage account as Sells (to support the Buys in the new account) that certainly would explain why you are seeing cap gains.  It does seem odd that those transactions would be recorded as Sell/Buy transactions when typically if the shares were transferred the investment companies simply record them as Remove Shares and Add Shares transactions.
    So, you could change the transactions in your registers to Delete Shares & Add Shares transactions which should eliminate the cap gains issue. 
    Another option would be to delete the Sell and Buy transactions involved in the transfer between brokerages. Then enter Shares Transferred Between Accounts transaction (you can do one transaction to transfer all securities) in the old brokerage account register.  I prefer this one because it will transfer all the lot history and cost basis from the old account to the new account.
    And, yes, Quicken will not let you delete a security when there are still some shares held of it.  Most often the shares are small fractional share quantities.  Need to remove those holdings of it and then the security can be deleted.

    (Quicken Classic Premier Subscription: R54.16 on Windows 11)

  • doverjohnson
    doverjohnson Member ✭✭
    Thank you very much to Boatnmaniac and Mark 1104