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Tuesday November 24, 2009 9:51 AM ET
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Ask SmartMoney: Handling Worthless Stock
I own shares of a company that was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Are they worth anything?
 
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User Comments
Posted 11:52 AM EST June 11, 2008
Posted by: flugerbill
Does this same advice apply if the worthless stock is in a Roth IRA?
Posted 8:12 PM EST June 10, 2008
Posted by: tprough
I am a retired IRS Agent. The question your investor should be asking is: What year can I deduct this loss on my Form 1040-Scedule D and should I try to sell this worthless stock. If you have a brokerage account get them to sell it for whatever they can get. The loss date will 12/31 in the year that this firm declared itself to be bankrupt. Since the sale by the brokerage house could be in another year,you might have a small gain in that year as you will have a '0' basis after you declare the loss
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