Stock worthless tax deduction
Whether the losses are from worthless securities or from other sales of investment property at a loss, you may deduct no more than $3,000 in net capital losses against ordinary income in any one tax year – $1,500 if you are married and filing separately – but you can carry forward your excess losses indefinitely. The owner of stock that becomes worthless generally may deduct its tax basis in the stock as a worthless stock loss for the year in which the stock becomes worthless. The loss typically is a capital loss if the stock is a capital asset in the taxpayer’s hands.