Acquisition cost deduction
Documented costs of buying a security — price, commissions, accrued interest paid to the seller — that reduce the taxable base when it is sold.
How to read the number
Tax is charged on the difference rather than on the sale proceeds, so keeping the purchase documents is the same thing as keeping the deductible part.
When the metric lies
Without evidence the cost counts as zero and tax is charged on the entire proceeds. This happens most often with securities transferred in from another broker or obtained other than by purchase.
Also known as: documented purchase costs