Personal Finance (Not Investing) • appreciated shares donation questions

The Vanguard basis options are as follows:
- Minimum Tax (MinTax)
- Specific Identification (SpecID)
- Highest In, First Out (HIFO)
- First In, First Out (FIFO)
- Average Cost (Avg Cost)

Which of those makes sense for the gifting?

Yes, you want "lowest in, first out," but they won't do this automatically for you. So you should use "specific identification" and choose the lowest-basis shares manually. If you care about making the right selection, you absolutely do not want "average cost," because then all the shares you own now will be locked into "average cost" forever. (Warning: you may have to select your desired basis method one or more business days before you actually request the transaction.)

Statistics: Posted by familythriftmd — Thu Oct 17, 2024 10:16 pm — Replies 14 — Views 575