When can I trade it again?

Free wash sale calculator. Tell us your trade and we'll show the first day you can trade it without losing your tax loss.

Your trade

What did you do? Sold at a loss Bought

Ticker

Date you sold

Your date shows here

Type a ticker and a date. That’s it.

Counts weekends and market holidays
Uses the day you traded
Your trades stay in your browser

Track every trade with the Wash Sale Tracker app

All your trades in one list, grouped by ticker.
A red flag when two trades clash, and a heads-up before a trade that would wash a loss.
A free heads-up 7 days and 2 days before your date, at 9:00 AM your time. PRO adds an 8:00 AM ET reminder on the day.

Wash Sale Tracker app, New trade screen: pick bought or sold, type the ticker and trade date, then save. Below, your stocks show Wait until Nov 9, Wash sale, or Clear.

Wash Sale Tracker app, My trades screen: trades grouped by ticker, with a red warning that an Oct 22 buy washes the Oct 23 loss.

On this page

When can I buy back
The 30 days before and after
Where a washed loss goes
What counts as a buy
IRAs and dividend reinvesting
Substantially identical
How to report it
Questions
Sources

The short answer

When can I buy back after a loss?

You can buy the same stock again on the 31st calendar day after the sale. A buy on day 30 still counts, and so do buys in the 30 days before the sale.

Count calendar days from the trade date, not the day the money settled. Weekends and market holidays don't stretch the wait. They only matter when day 31 lands on a day the market is closed. Then your first chance to buy is the next trading day.

Example loss sales · NYSE holiday calendar (published through 2028)
Loss sale	Last day a buy counts	You can buy again
Thu, Oct 22, 2026	Last day a buy counts: Sat, Nov 21	Mon, Nov 23, 2026Day 31 is a Sunday
Tue, Nov 10, 2026	Last day a buy counts: Thu, Dec 10	Fri, Dec 11, 2026Day 31 is a trading day
Wed, Nov 25, 2026	Last day a buy counts: Fri, Dec 25	Mon, Dec 28, 2026Day 31 is a Saturday
Tue, Dec 1, 2026	Last day a buy counts: Thu, Dec 31	Mon, Jan 4, 2027Jan 1 is New Year's Day, then a weekend
Tue, Dec 15, 2026	Last day a buy counts: Thu, Jan 14	Fri, Jan 15, 2027Day 31 is a trading dayCrosses tax years
Fri, Dec 18, 2026	Last day a buy counts: Sun, Jan 17	Tue, Jan 19, 2027Jan 18 is Martin Luther King Jr. DayCrosses tax years

How the rule works

The 30 days before and after

A loss is washed if you buy the same or a substantially identical stock 30 days before or after the sale. With the sale day itself, that's a 61-day window.

Weekends and holidays count toward the 30 days. They only matter because you can't trade on them. Enter a trade in the calculator above to see your own window on a bar.

The window covers 30 days before the sale, the sale day, and 30 days after. A buy on day 31 or later is outside it. Source: Treas. Reg. §1.1091‑1(a).

Only losses are affected. Sell at a gain and you can buy right back the same day.
New Year doesn't reset it. A December loss washed by a January buy is lost on the earlier year's taxes.
All your accounts count, at every broker, plus your spouse's and any company you control.

The math

Where a washed loss goes

A washed loss isn't deductible now. It's added to the cost of the new shares, so in most cases it's delayed, not lost.

The new shares also keep the holding period of the shares you sold (IRC §1223(3)). You claim the loss when you finally sell the new shares outside a wash window. If you buy back fewer shares than you sold, only that many shares' loss is washed, matched in the order you bought them.

Pub 550 Example 1: the new cost

You buy 100 shares for $1,000, sell them for $750, and buy 100 again within 30 days for $800.

The 250 dollar loss is washed and added to the 800 dollar repurchase cost, for a new cost basis of 1,050 dollars.

New cost basis$1,050

What happens to a $1,000 loss

100 shares sold at a $1,000 loss, then four different next moves.

Waiting 31 days or more keeps all 1,000 dollars deductible. Buying 25 of the 100 shares back inside the window leaves 750 dollars deductible and moves 250 dollars into the new shares. Buying all 100 back in a taxable account moves the full 1,000 dollars into the new shares. An IRA or Roth IRA buy loses the 1,000 dollars for good.

The triggers

What counts as a buy

IRS Publication 550 lists four ways to get a replacement inside the window. Any one of them washes the loss.

1Buying the same or a substantially identical stock
2Getting it in a fully taxable trade
3Getting a contract or option to buy it
4Buying it in your IRA or Roth IRA

Source: IRS Publication 550, Wash Sales; 26 U.S.C. §1091(a).

Calendar days, trade dates

Count calendar days. Use the trade date on your confirmation, never the settlement date.

26 U.S.C. §1091 · Pub 550

Your spouse or your company

If your spouse or a company you control buys the same stock, it counts as your buy.

IRS Publication 550

Options count too

Buying a call on the stock washes a stock loss. Selling a deep-in-the-money put can too, and option losses are covered.

§1091 · Rev. Rul. 85-87

Stock you get as pay

A stock bonus of the same stock received within 30 days of a loss sale washes the loss.

Pub 550, Example 2

Your broker won't catch it all

Brokers only flag a wash when the sale and the buy are in the same account. The rest is still yours to adjust.

Form 1099-B instructions

Futures and currency don't count

The rule doesn't apply to losses on commodity futures contracts or foreign currencies.

IRS Publication 550

The costly traps

IRAs and dividend reinvesting

An IRA or Roth IRA buy inside the window is the worst case: the loss is gone for good. A dividend reinvestment is smaller: it washes only the reinvested shares.

IRA or Roth IRA buy

The loss is gone for good

Under Rev. Rul. 2008-5, if your IRA or Roth IRA buys the stock inside the window, the loss is washed and the IRA's cost isn't raised. Nothing carries forward.

$0 deductible$2,000 lost for good

Example: a $2,000 loss sale on Tue, Dec 1, 2026, then a Roth IRA buy on Mon, Dec 14.

Dividend reinvestment

A partial wash

A $1,000 loss on 200 shares, then 6 shares reinvested inside the window: only those 6 shares' part of the loss is washed, and it moves into their cost.

$970 deductible$30 into new shares

Rev. Rul. 2008-5 covers your own IRA or Roth IRA. The IRS hasn't ruled on a spouse's IRA or a 401(k), so treating them the same way is the safe reading. Turn off auto-reinvest on a ticker, in every account, before you sell it at a loss.

Gray zones

What counts as substantially identical?

The IRS judges it case by case and has never drawn an exact line. The same stock always counts. Another company's stock usually doesn't.

If you sell at a loss and then buy…
Replacement	Substantially identical?
The same stock or fund	Yes
A call option on the same stockAn option to acquire it	Yes
Warrants for the common stock you soldIRS Publication 550, Warrants	Yes
A different fund on the same indexThe IRS has never ruled on it	Maybe
Convertible preferred of the same companyJudged on conversion terms, voting and dividend rights	Maybe
A fund on a different indexCommon practice, not an IRS safe harbor	Usually no
Another company's stockEven in the same sector	Usually no
Bonds or regular preferred of the same company	Usually no

Reporting

How to report a wash sale

Report the sale on Form 8949 as usual. Enter code W in column (f) and the washed loss as a positive number in column (g).

(a) Description80 sh XYZ

(d) Proceeds3,720.00

(e) Cost basis4,960.00

(f) CodeW

(g) Adjustment1,240.00

(h) Gain or loss0.00

Example: 80 shares of XYZ that cost $4,960 sold for $3,720, and a buy inside the window washed the whole loss.

1099-BBox 1g Wash sale loss disallowedBrokers only fill this in when the sale and the buy are in the same account with the same security. If the 1099-B amount is wrong, enter the right amount on Form 8949. A wash your broker missed is still yours to adjust.

How Maya lost a $5,000 tax break

Example

Maya sold Tesla at a $5,000 loss on Dec 15 to lower her tax bill.

On Jan 5 the price looked good, so she bought it back. That was day 21, inside the 30-day window.

Her $5,000 loss didn't count that year. It got pushed into her new shares instead. If she'd bought it back in her IRA, the loss would be gone for good.

Check your date first. It takes 5 seconds.

FAQ

Questions

Accurate as of October 26, 2026.

What is the wash sale rule?

If you sell a stock at a loss and buy the same or a substantially identical stock within 30 days before or after the sale, you can't deduct the loss then. It moves into the cost of the new shares instead. With the sale day itself, that's a 61-day window.

How many days do I have to wait to buy a stock back after selling at a loss?

Wait until the 31st calendar day after the sale. A repurchase on day 30 still triggers the rule. Weekends and holidays count as days. They matter only because you cannot trade on them, so if day 31 is a Saturday, Sunday, or market holiday, your first practical buy day is the next trading day. Example: a loss sale on Thu Oct 22, 2026 can be safely repurchased starting Mon Nov 23, 2026.

Does buying before I sell count too?

If you bought shares of the same stock in the 30 days before your loss sale, the loss can already be washed (unless the shares you sold are those same new shares). If you already sold the newly bought shares before the loss sale, check with a tax professional.

Do options count?

Yes. Buying a call option on the same stock within 30 days before or after a loss sale counts as buying the stock, so it washes the loss. Losses on options can be washed too. The IRS hasn't said whether an option with a different strike or expiration date is substantially identical.

If my loss is washed, is it gone forever?

Usually not. The disallowed loss is added to the cost basis of the replacement shares, and your old holding period carries over to them. You claim the loss when you finally sell the replacement shares outside a wash window. The big exception is a repurchase inside an IRA or Roth IRA (see the next question).

Does buying in my IRA or Roth IRA trigger a wash sale?

Yes, and it is the worst case. Under IRS Revenue Ruling 2008-5, a loss sale in a taxable account followed by your IRA or Roth IRA buying the same stock within 30 days disallows the loss, and the IRA's basis is not increased. The loss is permanently gone, not deferred. Treat a spouse's IRA, and probably a 401(k), the same way to be safe. The IRS has not ruled on those specifically.

Do dividend reinvestment, RSU vesting, or other automatic buys count?

Yes. An automatic dividend reinvestment is a purchase, so a DRIP buy inside the window washes the loss on that many shares. Stock received as compensation counts too. IRS Pub 550's example is a stock bonus received within 30 days of a loss sale. Turn off auto-reinvest on that ticker in every account before you harvest the loss.

Does the wash sale rule apply to crypto?

As of October 26, 2026, no. Ordinary cryptocurrency is not "stock or securities" under current law, and no enacted law has changed that. However, H.R. 10357 (the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act) passed the House Ways and Means Committee on Sep 16, 2026. If enacted as written, it would apply the rule to traded digital assets (not qualifying U.S. dollar stablecoins) disposed of after Sep 14, 2026. The bill has not passed the full House or Senate. A token that legally is the stock or security (or an option or contract to acquire it) is covered under current law; tokens that only track a stock's price are not clearly covered yet.

More help on the support page

Sources

How we check the math

WashSaleCalc follows IRS Publication 550 (2025 edition), 26 U.S.C. §1091 and Treas. Reg. §1.1091‑1. The window is counted in calendar days from your trade date. When day 31 falls on a weekend or market holiday, the first trading day uses NYSE's published holiday calendar where available (currently through 2028) and NYSE's standard holiday rules for later years through 2040; unscheduled closures can only push the trading day later. Replacement buys are matched to sold shares in the order you bought them.

Checked Oct 26, 2026