How good is your record keeping?

True and it puts many folks that want to be honest, at risk of a deep audit of everything they do, not just coins. I have always said that "there is no way to win an audit". Even if there are no taxes due, you lost. Having to pull out records for everything can be a long process and they can ask for records going back for several years. I can do it but I would hate to. There are more fun thing to be doing.

 

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Therefore we have the supporting reason for leaving it all to our next of kin. They won't need the supporting documents, providing they get the collection appraised shortly after our demise. They'll be able to claim the stepped up basis as their cost basis. No audit fears going that route.

My collection is far from an heirloom collection anyway. No auditor will get a promotion from levying any hefty taxes or penalties on the tax returns of my heirs, based on my hobby collection.

 

I suppose it is more for my own interest... How does the value of the coin I bought track with inflation? Coins I bought 20 years ago... I might have marked at $20 purchase price. But if I sold it today for $20... I really would have lost a lot of money.

 

Excel can handle this easily, as it has date functions which update automatically.

In my case, since I only reference the year, I update a cell each year with what year it is. New Year's Day is always depressing when I put in the new year and my formulas all update with the new year's inflation.

 

If I were to pass my wife would get a stepped up basis to market value on my half of the collection. When she passes our son would own it at market value at that time and could sell it all and pay no taxes.

 

I absolutely agree. numismatics is completely independent of CPI.

However, the purchasing power of the dollars I use to buy my coins is very closely related to CPI. I can buy one onion for a dollar now; in ten years, I can buy one onion for 10 dollars. How does that relative value compare to my coins?

 

The IRS won't give a crap about inflation when they figure the tax on your sale proceeds.

 

Better over the last 35 years with the advent of computers. Before then, my young brain allowed me to remember what I paid for everything. The dates perched were impossible, however.

 

Besides, first they'd have to fish it up from the bottom of the lake.

 

And if you just leave your collection to your heirs, they won't be needed.

The notion that capital gains are based on non-inflation-adjusted values is the biggest cash grab of all. And the odds of that changing are about the same as the odds that deflation will bring the dollar price of your coins back down to what you originally paid -- that is, zero.

 

Excellent topic, and coincidentally, I am updating my stuff. I have spreadsheet and I enter values based on retail. If slabbed I use the PCGS site. Yes, if seeking I certainly know I would not get retail or PCGS price, but I do this for security reasons.

BTW, what is the ideal source for retail prices? I currently use the Coin World site, but is there a better one?

 

Thank you for the feedback. I think what I am looking provides a directionally correct retail estimate for insurance purposes