First in, first out method

How it works

The shares you bought first will automatically be the first shares we sell.

Why you might prefer the first in, first out method

It's easy to understand

Shares are sold in the same order they were bought—it's that simple.
 

You can be hands-off

You don't need to hand-select which shares to sell because we'll automatically sell the oldest shares first.

A few things to consider

It could be less tax-efficient

Sales and transfers are based on acquisition date and don't consider potential gains or losses.
 

More recordkeeping may be required

Sales involve a mix of covered and noncovered shares. Our systems evaluate each lot by its holding period rather than its covered or noncovered status.

For noncovered shares, we'll first sell the shares for which we don't have an acquisition date, followed by the shares with the earliest acquisition date. We'll report the basis of the noncovered shares to you, if we know it, but won't send it to the IRS.

Get details on covered & noncovered shares