Investment Tax Worksheet and Tutorial - Beta
Worksheet and tutorial by Chandler Lutz
This is a beta version, so we appreciate any comments or reviews that you have. Please send any comments or reviews to support@stockboxfinancial.com.
Although we do try our best to make everything we write as accurate as possible, StockBoxFinancial does not guarantee the accuracy of any information presented in tutorial or in the investment tax worksheet. You are using this worksheet and tutorial completely at your own risk. StockBoxFinancial nor its employees are responsible for any financial other consequences that results from your use of material produced, published or written by StockBoxFinancial including this tutorial and this worksheet. The tutorial and the worksheet are copyrighted works and are not for commercial use. Edits abide by the copyright restrictions of this document, but we do ask you to send any improvements to us at support@stockboxfinancial.com. Also, send us an email to that address if you have any questions, comments or ideas. Your use of the tutorial or the worksheet implies you have read, understand, and agree to this disclaimer.
Note: We strongly recommend that you do not put any passwords or pin numbers on this spreadsheet or anywhere else on your computer to ensure your safety.
Before we dive into the fun world taxes, I would like to clarify a few things that may be helpful for reading this tutorial and using the investment tax worksheet. First of all, the worksheet is an Excel spreadsheet so you will probably need Microsoft Office (2000, 2003 or 2007). This tutorial was written for Microsoft Excel 2003. If you don’t have Microsoft Office and don’t want to pay the hefty price, you may want to check out Google docs and spreadsheets. I have never used this program from Google, but it should get the job done. Below is a link to download the spreadsheet (it may open up in a new window so you might need to turn off your popup blocker)
Investment Tax Worksheet - Beta Download
I will do my best to make Excel easy to understand for
beginners, but this tutorial will not supplement an actual guide. In
this respect, I personally have found the
Missing Manual
books very helpful (Excel
2003: The Missing Manual
This Worksheet is designed for reporting gains and losses using the accounting method "specific identification" as well as the "first in first out method". With specific identification, if you buy a stock multiple times, you can specify a certain buy price. This method allows investors to minimize their tax burden. With the "first in, first out" approach, if you buy a stock multiple times, then the buy price is the first price at which you bought shares (as long as you still hold shares at that buy price; if you don't hold any shares at the first buy price then the second buy price is used to calculate your gains and losses). Generally brokerage firms use the first in first out method. You can use either method, but it is important to stay consistent. Once you pick a method, stick to it. This will save you a lot of confusion in the long run.
Whenever I use a toolbar to guide you through a command, I will use arrows. For example, “File à Save As” means going to file on the toolbar along the top of your screen and selecting Save As which is seen below:
We recommend that you keep the worksheet 100 percent current (update whenever you make a trade or receive a dividend). This will make life much easier and save you a lot of stress come tax time
It is in your best interest not to tamper or delete any cells with formulas. If you accidentally delete or tamper a formula, just close the sheet and start over from the basic template.