What Is an Unrealized Loss?
Let me explain what an unrealized loss really means. It's essentially a 'paper' loss you face when an asset you've bought drops in market value, but you haven't sold it yet, so the loss isn't locked in. As an investor, you might choose to hold onto it, hoping the price bounces back to at least break even or even turn a small profit. Remember, for taxes, you can't claim that loss to offset gains until you actually sell the asset.
You can think of unrealized gains and losses as opposites of their realized counterparts—everything stays on paper until you make a move.
Key Takeaways
- Unrealized losses come from assets that have lost value but aren't sold yet.
- They become realized losses only when you sell the asset at a loss.
- The accounting impact depends on the security type and might not affect a firm's books at all.
- Taxes recognize capital losses only after they're realized.
Understanding Unrealized Losses
An unrealized loss happens due to a value drop in an ongoing transaction that you haven't closed. You won't actually incur the loss unless you decide to sell while it's down. For example, if you own shares that have fallen in price, the loss isn't real until you sell them. If you wait, that loss could disappear if the asset recovers, or it might even become a gain.
You can calculate an unrealized loss over a specific period, say from when you bought the asset to now, or compare it across different times when the value dipped below previous levels.
Sometimes, you might choose to sell an asset with an unrealized loss to turn it into a realized one, especially if you see no chance of recovery. This helps you salvage some of your initial investment and prevents further damage to your portfolio. If your portfolio is diversified, gains from other assets might balance out these losses.
Tip on the Psychological Side
Holding unrealized losses affects you differently than holding gains. You might cling to the asset, hoping for a rebound to recover your paper losses, and you could even take on more risk to make that happen. This is called the disposition effect, tied to loss aversion in behavioral economics—it's just how our minds work with investments.
Unrealized Losses vs. Unrealized Gains
On the flip side, an unrealized gain is when an asset you hold increases in value since you bought it, but you haven't sold for profit yet. Just like losses, gains aren't realized until you close the position.
Unrealized Losses in Accounting
While unrealized losses are theoretical, their treatment varies by security type. If securities are held to maturity, they don't affect the firm's finances and aren't recorded, though you might see a footnote about them. Trading securities, however, get marked at fair value on the balance sheet or income statement, directly impacting profits, losses, and earnings per share—but not cash flow. Available-for-sale securities are also recorded at fair value as assets.
Tax Consequences
We call them 'paper' losses because they're not real until realized, which matters a lot for taxes. Capital gains get taxed only when realized, and you can deduct losses only after selling. If you have both gains and losses in a year, use losses to offset gains and lower your tax bill. Losses can also cut future gains or even offset some ordinary income up to the limit.
Example of an Unrealized Loss
Suppose you buy 1,000 shares of Widget Co. at $10 each, and the price drops to $6. At that point, you have an unrealized loss of $4,000. If it rebounds to $8 and you sell, your realized loss is $2,000. For taxes, that initial $4,000 unrealized loss doesn't count—only the $2,000 realized one does.
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