Do Wash Sale rules apply to 401k plan?
Suppose you own company stock in a 401k.
And suppose the value of your company stock sharply decreases in value–far below your cost basis.
To potentially enjoy the benefits of the Net Unrealized Appreciation strategy in the future, it would be helpful to reset/lower your cost basis by selling the company stock and shortly thereafter buy it right back.
Do the wash sale rules apply to 401k plan?
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Fri, 2021-07-23 21:55
The IRS has only stated that IRA purchases are subject to wash sales if the shares are sold for a loss in taxable and repurchased in the IRA. Your example assumes a sale and repurchase in the 401k, and there is no cap loss to be claimed for the sale within the plan, so this is an additional reason that it would not be a wash sale.