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Dealers Can Help Lick Tax Issues for Stamps, Coins
FROM:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1229...googlenews_wsj Dealers Can Help Lick Tax Issues for Stamps, Coins DECEMBER 12, 2008, 9:42 P.M. ET By KELLY GREENE I enjoyed your Ask Encore article about selling coins. I am wondering how to establish a cost basis for income-tax purposes. I have no receipts for many of the old coins I have. Do you have any suggestions? -Larry Dranchak, Continental, Ohio * * * I have a mostly U.S. stamp collection that I haven't looked at for about 50 years. Could you point me in directions to evaluate and sell the collection? -Bob Larson, Rochester, N.Y. Our column last month about selling coin collections elicited questions from readers wondering how to value such sales for tax purposes -- and how to apply the same lessons to stamps. To review: Working with a coin dealer is probably the best way to sell a coin collection quickly. But if you have coins worth at least several thousand dollars, you might get a larger return on your sale through an auction. If you acquired the coins years ago, and can't prove when they were purchased, establishing the cost basis can take some work. But, in many cases, it is possible, says Greg Rohan, president of Heritage Auction Galleries, in Dallas, which says it is the largest rare-coin company in the world and the third-largest auction house. "The Internal Revenue Service allows for a retroactive creation of basis," Mr. Rohan says. Typically, that process begins with looking at a history of coin prices. Mr. Rohan recommends working with a dealer who has a research library. His strategy is to help clients figure out when they bought their coins, one by one, starting with the most valuable pieces. You can find directories of dealers at pngdealers.com, the Web site for the Professional Numismatists Guild of Fallbrook, Calif., and at money.org, the Web site for the American Numismatic Association in Colorado Springs, Colo. Shifting to stamps, there are generally two categories of stamp collections: "youth-formed," or shoe-box, collections, which generally have little value, and leather-bound albums assembled by serious collectors, whose value depends on the rarity of the stamps, says Michael DuBasso, director of the nonprofit American Philatelic Foundation in Los Angeles. If you have a shoebox collection, "take it to a local dealer; 99.9% of the time they're going to say there's nothing here. In that case, give it to someone who's interested in stamp collecting," Mr. DuBasso says. Dealers and auction houses are listed at Americanphilatelic.com, stampauctionnetwork.com and asdaonline.com. If you have an album assembled by a serious collector, consider an in-depth appraisal, Mr. DuBasso says, which can help you figure out the best way to sell it. "If you have high-quality stamps worth $1,000 or more, it may be worth it to go to auction. But the average collection has $1 to $20 stamps." With collectibles like coins and stamps, the top tax bracket for long-term capital gains is 28% -- a higher rate than the 15% on long-term capital gains on securities. Despite the different tax rates, you may be able to offset stock-market losses this year with gains from the sale of collectibles, Mr. Rohan says. But you have to be careful to order your losses and gains as specified by tax rules. Your best bet: Seek help from a tax adviser to get it right. You also may want to consider donating. See IRS publications 526 on charitable contributions and 561 on valuing donated property, available at irs.gov. Send your question to . Ask Encore/Focus on Retirement is a weekly column answering readers' questions about retirement and personal finance -- from annuities and bonds, to trusts and inheritance issues. .. |
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Dealers Can Help Lick Tax Issues for Stamps, Coins
"Lorrie S." wrote in message ... This one is simple. Don't give the IRS one ****ing cent of your rightful sales. It's your collection. Why would you let a thief (IRS) dip their filthy hands in it? So you don't go to prison and/or have to pay enormous fines? Ya think? |
#3
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Dealers Can Help Lick Tax Issues for Stamps, Coins
"Lorrie S." wrote in message ... "PC" wrote in message ... So you don't go to prison and/or have to pay enormous fines? Ya think? Only those who lack resourcefulness. Please share and enlighten me. |
#4
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Dealers Can Help Lick Tax Issues for Stamps, Coins
This one is simple. Don't give the IRS one ****ing cent of your rightful
sales. It's your collection. Why would you let a thief (IRS) dip their filthy hands in it? "Arizona Coin Collector" wrote in message ... FROM: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1229...googlenews_wsj Dealers Can Help Lick Tax Issues for Stamps, Coins DECEMBER 12, 2008, 9:42 P.M. ET By KELLY GREENE I enjoyed your Ask Encore article about selling coins. I am wondering how to establish a cost basis for income-tax purposes. I have no receipts for many of the old coins I have. Do you have any suggestions? -Larry Dranchak, Continental, Ohio * * * I have a mostly U.S. stamp collection that I haven't looked at for about 50 years. Could you point me in directions to evaluate and sell the collection? -Bob Larson, Rochester, N.Y. Our column last month about selling coin collections elicited questions from readers wondering how to value such sales for tax purposes -- and how to apply the same lessons to stamps. To review: Working with a coin dealer is probably the best way to sell a coin collection quickly. But if you have coins worth at least several thousand dollars, you might get a larger return on your sale through an auction. If you acquired the coins years ago, and can't prove when they were purchased, establishing the cost basis can take some work. But, in many cases, it is possible, says Greg Rohan, president of Heritage Auction Galleries, in Dallas, which says it is the largest rare-coin company in the world and the third-largest auction house. "The Internal Revenue Service allows for a retroactive creation of basis," Mr. Rohan says. Typically, that process begins with looking at a history of coin prices. Mr. Rohan recommends working with a dealer who has a research library. His strategy is to help clients figure out when they bought their coins, one by one, starting with the most valuable pieces. You can find directories of dealers at pngdealers.com, the Web site for the Professional Numismatists Guild of Fallbrook, Calif., and at money.org, the Web site for the American Numismatic Association in Colorado Springs, Colo. Shifting to stamps, there are generally two categories of stamp collections: "youth-formed," or shoe-box, collections, which generally have little value, and leather-bound albums assembled by serious collectors, whose value depends on the rarity of the stamps, says Michael DuBasso, director of the nonprofit American Philatelic Foundation in Los Angeles. If you have a shoebox collection, "take it to a local dealer; 99.9% of the time they're going to say there's nothing here. In that case, give it to someone who's interested in stamp collecting," Mr. DuBasso says. Dealers and auction houses are listed at Americanphilatelic.com, stampauctionnetwork.com and asdaonline.com. If you have an album assembled by a serious collector, consider an in-depth appraisal, Mr. DuBasso says, which can help you figure out the best way to sell it. "If you have high-quality stamps worth $1,000 or more, it may be worth it to go to auction. But the average collection has $1 to $20 stamps." With collectibles like coins and stamps, the top tax bracket for long-term capital gains is 28% -- a higher rate than the 15% on long-term capital gains on securities. Despite the different tax rates, you may be able to offset stock-market losses this year with gains from the sale of collectibles, Mr. Rohan says. But you have to be careful to order your losses and gains as specified by tax rules. Your best bet: Seek help from a tax adviser to get it right. You also may want to consider donating. See IRS publications 526 on charitable contributions and 561 on valuing donated property, available at irs.gov. Send your question to . Ask Encore/Focus on Retirement is a weekly column answering readers' questions about retirement and personal finance -- from annuities and bonds, to trusts and inheritance issues. . |
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Dealers Can Help Lick Tax Issues for Stamps, Coins
"PC" wrote in message
... So you don't go to prison and/or have to pay enormous fines? Ya think? Only those who lack resourcefulness. |
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