Selling securities

Use the Sell transaction type to record shares you sell. This transaction type increases your cash balance by the total amount you enter.

Recording securities sold

Use these steps to record a sale in the investment account's register.

1. In the sidebar, select the investment account you want to use.

2. Click the Transactions tab, then click New in the toolbar.

3. In the Type list, select Sell.

4. Enter the transaction details:

   • Date - Enter the date of the sale. This is important for tracking your investment performance and tax information. When the date field is selected, you can type a shortcut key instead of the full date:

     • Press t for today.

     • Press w, m, or y for the first day of the week, month, or year.

     • Press k, h, or r for the last day of the week, month, or year.

     • Press + to move forward one day, or - to move back one day.

     • Press > to move forward seven days, or < to move back seven days.

   • Security - Select the security you are selling.

   • Total Sale - Enter the total amount received from the sale, including commission.

   • Number of Shares - Enter the number of shares sold.

   • Commission - Enter any commission or fees for the trade.

   • Memo - Enter a note you want to associate with the transaction.

   • Tags - Enter the tags you want to use when searching for the transaction.

5. To add an attachment, click the Attachments tab, then add the file.

6. Click Save.

Note: Quicken calculates the price per share from the total sale, the number of shares, and the commission you enter. To enter the price per share yourself instead, click the pencil icon next to Price Per Share.

Default lot assignment

By default, Quicken uses the lot assignment set in the account's settings whenever you sell a security. You can set a default of FIFO (first in, first out) or LIFO (last in, first out) for each type of security.

1. In the transactions view toolbar, click Settings.

2. In the Account Settings window, find the Cost Basis section.

3. For each security type (Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual Funds, ETFs, Cryptocurrency, Commodities, and Other), choose FIFO or LIFO.

4. Click Done.

Explicit lot assignment

When you sell a security, you can assign specific lots to the sale, for example to manage your gain for tax purposes.

1. In the Sell transaction, enter the number of shares you are selling, then click Specify Lots.

2. In the Specify Lots Assigned in This Transaction window, choose an option from the Auto Select list:

   • FIFO - Assigns your oldest shares first.

   • LIFO - Assigns your newest shares first.

   • Minimum Gain - Assigns the lots that produce the smallest gain.

   • Maximum Gain - Assigns the lots that produce the largest gain.

   • Custom - Appears when you assign lots that do not match any of the other options.

3. To assign lots yourself, enter the number of shares in the Shares to Sell column for each lot.

4. Click Save.

Note: Enter the number of shares before you specify lots. If you click Specify Lots with zero shares, Quicken asks you to correct the number of shares first.