Recently I have been thinking about this. In a way its almost like a proof of purchase in case something goes wrong. Its also interesting if you buy bullion since you should be able to calculate the price of the PM on the day you purchased it. Besides having a habit of putting purchases on a spreadsheet does anyone here keep their receipts for personal records?
Yeah, I keep the receipt of all the coins I buy on Ebay so that in the future I can look back to see if the values have appreciated or not.
You should keep all your coin purchase receipts. If the IRS ever has an interest in any sales you have made then you will rue the day you threw away the receipts.
I keep a spreadsheet record, and I also keep all my receipts for tax purposes (as per TomB's logic above).
Once I add the price I paid into my spreadsheet, along with the coin info, the receipt gets filed under G.
I don't sell my coins so I don't worry about keeping more records than I already have. Besides, if the IRS decides to waste a few thousand dollars and man hours to audit me for $50, it wouldn't be too hard to manufacture a receipt. Guy
I keep all my receipts. I don't think I'll ever need them since I plan on passing them on to my kids, but you never know...
What he said ! And keep in mind, losses on these coins can be used to offset gains on those coins Keeping your receipts is just good common sense. And if you are not offered a receipt when you buy a coin, make it a point to ask for one.
That's what it's all about. The receipts help prove your basis. Without a receipt, the IRS could set your cost at $0 and ask for taxes on the total amount of the sell price. This becomes a big issue with folks with large holdings that decide to sell.
Well, the IRS could set it at the face value, not $0. But in most cases, there's probably not much difference in the two.
Actually you would have to prove you paid face value to get that as your basis. It's based on the hobby tax rules.