Christopher Browne wrote:
>
>
> > > - A combination of the two is used. Changing a stock price draws
> > > $20 from an "unrealized gain" account. Selling a stock transfers
> > > $20 from the "unrealized gain" account into a "realized gain"
> > > account. Is this close?
>
> That's pretty accurate. Although what you're missing is that Quicken
> isn't actually creating a *transaction* to reflect the unrealized
> gains/losses...
>
Thanks folks for the accounting information. It makes sense now. Just
track it outside of the accounts until it's sold. This is described
very clearly in the documentation under "Depreciation and Capital Gains".
I didn't see that section until just a few minutes ago.
Instead I read the section called "Stock Pricing and Ticker Symbols".
In this section it describes how you can update the price of a stock in
a stock account and the balance in the account changes to reflect the
new price. I was confused because I couldn't figure out where this
extra money was coming from. I thought it would have to be tracking
the unrealized portion of the balance.
Maybe I should think of it this way... The currency in a stock account
tracks SHARES, not dollars. Anything that has anything to do with
dollars in a stock account is just "report" information. If this is
the case, then maybe the method of updating the price should be moved
out of the stock account and into the report section as you described.
(Or maybe I misunderstood that section and I need sleep).
> The "magic" that is being observed is that what Quicken does is to
> provide a set of reports that can use other values than "cost," and
> which thereby will compute values for "unrealized" gains.
>
I was more annoyed at the "magic" they do when a stock is sold. There
is no option to choose the account used for the realized gain portion.
This means that stocks sold in a tax free account are treated the
same as taxable income (even if the account is marked as tax-free).
Thanks.
Gerald
--
Gnucash Developer's List
To unsubscribe send empty email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
