Well, the stock has been through three (that I can remember) different share registries, and has never been with a broker. The latest share registry's records only go back to 2007, so the onus on keeping the records is on me.
On Fri, Jun 19, 2026 at 2:10 AM David T. <[email protected]> wrote: > Well, yes-- but you'd have to track basis anyhow. My point was that you > could do all the transactions in one account, split at the end, and only > have to split the shares and basis at the end. > > If, on the other hand, your concern is that calculating basis and gains on > a large series of smaller events is difficult, well, yes that's true. > > And the options there are: > 1) let the GnuCash lots feature calculate gains on a lot-by-lot basis > (works, but results in complex splits); > 2) enter all these same details yourself manually (augh!); or > 3) use aggregated figures provided by the brokerage. > > I can tell you from experience that the first two are tricky to handle, > and even determining whether your numbers are accurate can be deeply > challenging. > > I decided for myself that I wasn't going to be challenging the numbers the > brokers provided anyway, so I might as well use their numbers throughout. > > IANAA and YMMV. > > David T. > > > On June 19, 2026 12:02:06 PM GMT+05:30, Clint Chaplin <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> For use case 1, the distribution did not happen immediately; in fact it >> was delayed for five years (families, amirite?). In that time, the >> original and 20 DRIPs accumulated, and for tax purposes we have to keep >> track of the basis of the DRIPs. >> >> On Thu, Jun 18, 2026 at 9:55 PM David T. <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Clint, >>> >>> With use case 1: was the inheritance split as a percentage or as a set >>> number of shares? If, as I suspect, it was a percentage, then why not >>> simply take the final share count at the time of distribution and split >>> that in half? I don't see any point in doing it the other way round. >>> Presumably, the aggregated shares all appreciate at the same rate, and two >>> equal holdings would have appreciated at the rate rate as well. So, half at >>> the beginning will be half at the end. >>> >>> As for the stock spinoff, you "sell" the shares and "receive" a total >>> dollar amount, then you "buy" a different number of shares for that same >>> dollar amount. Technically, the rates don't really matter that much. Just >>> the number of shares involved at each stage. Note that in many spinoff >>> situations, your original number of shares results in a fractional number >>> of new shares (you are spun back 55.3 shares, say). This is usually handled >>> by the brokerage as "Cash in lieu." I have usually handled this in GnuCash >>> by creating a single transaction that has the accurate spinoff amount in >>> shares and dollars, with a separate split to sell the fractional share at >>> the cash in lieu amount. It is then quite clear what happened, the basis is >>> accurate, and you can derive the gain on the fractional sale easily. I add >>> notes to the splits to explain what's going on. >>> >>> David T. >>> >>> >>> On June 19, 2026 8:58:42 AM GMT+05:30, John Ralls <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> You can. But as you might have discovered empirically it’s not >>>> consistently used: A rough grep finds 35 uses of >>>> xaccAccountGetCommoditySCU, which returns the fraction set in the Account >>>> Edit Dialog, and 104 uses of gnc_commodity_get_fraction, which returns the >>>> fraction set in the currency editor. >>>> >>>> Regards, >>>> John Ralls >>>> >>>> On Jun 18, 2026, at 15:49, Clint Chaplin <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> What I find interesting is that GnuCash has the ability for me to set any >>>>> arbitrary USD cash accounts to 3, 4, 5 or more decimal digits, and yet >>>>> that ability cannot be carried over to the USD cash side of >>>>> conversions/transfers to and from non-USD accounts. >>>>> >>>>> On Thu, Jun 18, 2026 at 10:46 AM John Ralls <[email protected] >>>>> <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Clint, >>>>>> >>>>>> Don’t sweat the pennies in stock basis, they don’t make a practical >>>>>> difference anywhere. >>>>>> >>>>>> For splitting the DRIPs bases alternate the rounding so that for the >>>>>> first one your basis is (e.g.) .45 and your sister’s is .46, the second >>>>>> your basis is .46 and your sister’s is .45, and so on. Notice that if >>>>>> there are an even number of such dividends you come out even and if >>>>>> there are an odd number your sister comes out .01 ahead. That’s to >>>>>> promote familial peace. It doesn’t actually matter, >>>>>> >>>>>> Regards, >>>>>> John Ralls >>>>>> >>>>>> On Jun 18, 2026, at 09:30, Clint Chaplin <[email protected] >>>>>> <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]>>> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Hmm, I actually have two use cases, neither of which involve stock >>>>>>> splits, sorry for the deke. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I and my sister inherited some stock from our father, split 50/50. It >>>>>>> took several years to settle the estate, and meanwhile the stock split >>>>>>> 2 for 1 twice and kept DRIPping. When it came time to actually >>>>>>> distribute the stock, we had to split the original stock with the basis >>>>>>> at the time of death, and also the subsequent DRIPs. If the total >>>>>>> value of a DRIP happened to be odd, then the amount bequeathed to each >>>>>>> person when split 50/50 would have a half cent. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Second use case: spinoffs. To record the split, the original stock is >>>>>>> "sold" for the original value and basis, and then "bought" for the >>>>>>> modified value and basis, which could be any fraction of the original >>>>>>> value and basis (in my case, .9581688 of the original amount and >>>>>>> basis), while the remainder value is used to "purchase" the spun off >>>>>>> stock (in my case, .0418312 of the original value). This ain't gonna >>>>>>> be an even number of cents... >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Thu, Jun 18, 2026 at 8:54 AM Derek Atkins <[email protected] >>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]>> <mailto:[email protected] >>>>>>> <[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]>>>> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Keep in mind that gnucash does not store the price in the register, it >>>>>>>> stores the #shares and total $value. Are you saying you would have a >>>>>>>> mil in the total value of the split? >>>>>>>> -derek >>>>>>>> Sent using my mobile device. Please excuse any typos. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> On June 18, 2026 11:38:28 Clint Chaplin <[email protected] >>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]>> >>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]> >>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]>>>> wrote: >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Unfortunate. My use case is stock that has split. The suggested way >>>>>>>> to >>>>>>>>> record this change in basis in GnuCash is to sell all the stock, and >>>>>>>>> then >>>>>>>>> rebuy at the split quantities at the new pricing. This will lead to >>>>>>>>> amounts that are fractions of a penny, but simply cannot be recorded >>>>>>>>> in >>>>>>>>> GnuCash with the current restriction. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Even worse is when a spinoff happens and needs to be recorded. The >>>>>>>>> basis >>>>>>>>> of the stock needs to be modified, but the only way I can see is to >>>>>>>>> "sell" >>>>>>>>> and "buy" at the new basis, but the total amount per purchase cannot >>>>>>>>> be in >>>>>>>>> fractions of a penny. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> When I have over 100 lots to do this to, the rounding to the nearest >>>>>>>>> penny >>>>>>>>> will catch up... >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> On Wed, Jun 17, 2026 at 2:53 PM John Ralls <[email protected] >>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]>> >>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]> >>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]>>>> wrote: >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> No, no more than you can get a 10th of a penny at the bank or the >>>>>>>>> grocery >>>>>>>>>> store. Prices can be in fractions of a penny, amounts cannot. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Regards, >>>>>>>>>> John Ralls >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> On Jun 16, 2026, at 10:39 PM, Clint Chaplin <[email protected] >>>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]>> >>>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]> >>>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]>>>> wrote: >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> Is there a way to set GnuCash to take USD tenths and mils on some >>>>>>>>>>> accounts? My default is USD, if that matters... >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>>>> Clint (JOATMON) Chaplin >>>>>>>>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>>>>>>>> gnucash-user mailing list >>>>>>>>>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected] >>>>>>>>>>> <[email protected]>> <mailto:[email protected] >>>>>>>>>>> <[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected] >>>>>>>>>>> <[email protected]>>> >>>>>>>>>>> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >>>>>>>>>>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user >>>>>>>>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>>>>>>>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. >>>>>>>>>>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>>>>>>> gnucash-user mailing list >>>>>>>>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected] >>>>>>>>>> <[email protected]>> <mailto:[email protected] >>>>>>>>>> <[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected] >>>>>>>>>> <[email protected]>>> >>>>>>>>>> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >>>>>>>>>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user >>>>>>>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>>>>>>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. >>>>>>>>>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>> Clint (JOATMON) Chaplin >>>>>>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>>>>>> gnucash-user mailing list >>>>>>>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected] >>>>>>>>> <[email protected]>> <mailto:[email protected] >>>>>>>>> <[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected] >>>>>>>>> <[email protected]>>> >>>>>>>>> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >>>>>>>>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user >>>>>>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>>>>>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. >>>>>>>>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> Clint (JOATMON) Chaplin >>>>>>> >>>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>>> gnucash-user mailing list >>>>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected] >>>>>> <[email protected]>> >>>>>> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >>>>>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user >>>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. >>>>>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Clint (JOATMON) Chaplin >>>>> >>>> ------------------------------ >>>> gnucash-user mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >>>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user >>>> ------------------------------ >>>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. >>>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. >>>> >>>> >> >> > David T. > -- Clint (JOATMON) Chaplin _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list [email protected] To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. 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