Tax-Loss Selling

tax-loss selling

The sale of securities that have declined in value in order to realize losses that may be used to reduce taxable income. Tax-loss selling occurs near the end of a calendar year so that the loss can be used in that tax year to offset ordinary income or gains on other security transactions. Thus, tax-loss selling occurs mainly among stock that has declined in price. Compare tax selling.

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Tax-Loss Selling

The act or practice of selling stock or other securities at a loss in order to offset gains from other investment or income. In the United States, one is able to reduce one's taxable income by the amount one has lost in investing. Therefore, it is common to sell securities that have declined anyway at the end of the year and thereby reduce one's tax liability.