Quick TLH and dividends question

[marko]

This should be easy: when taking a stock loss, is it just the price that counts or are previous dividends paid factored in?

Example: stock bought X years ago at $100, but now worth $99. But over that time $10 worth of dividends were paid. Is that considered a "loss"?

 

[all4j]

Assuming the $10 in dividends were not re-invested, you'd have a $1 loss. If re-invested & total number of shares is now worth $99, you'd have a $11 loss. This assumes the dividend was not classified as "return of capital". The dividends were taxed when paid.

 

[audreyh1]

Dividends has nothing to do with it unless reinvested in which case they increase your basis somewhat as well as increase the size of your position. The brokerage should clearly show your total unrealized gain (loss) for the position as a whole which will take all of that into account.

No, in your case, assuming no dividends were reinvested, your loss is only $1 per share. And you really should look at the total position, not per share.