FAQ - tsiemens/acb GitHub Wiki

Q: How do I format my transaction files?

A: Check out the page on the transactions file format.

Q: When should I summarize old transactions?

A: At least 30 days after you the last transaction to summarize.

At some point you will likely want to compact old transaction data, particularly those older than 6 years (the recommended record retention time listed by the Canada Revenue Agency.

However, while you should keep your transaction history (as well as outputs from ACB you've used to formulate previous tax returns), you can always summarise these before the 6 year period to reduce clutter in the ACB output. I strongly recommend not summarising until at least 30 days after the last transaction you want to summarise, so that transactions following the summary are properly counted as superficial losses, if applicable.

Q: How should I summarise old transactions?

A: A good way is to save a summary of your old transactions as a single Buy transaction, with a memo describing it as a summary.

Run ACB on your previous transaction history, and INCLUDE any transactions made in the period at least 30 days after the summary period. This is important, because these can change whether sales near the end of your summary period are counted as superficial losses or not, and it can affect the starting ACB after the summary period. Do NOT use the last sell date, because it may cause other sales after to be treated as superficial losses, when they should not be.

Create a spreadsheet entry with a single buy transaction with the share balance and cost/share equal to the ACB/share at the summary point. It should have the same date as the very last BUY transaction being summarised.

It is highly recommended to cross-check that your summary and original transaction history produce the same final result once you know all transactions 30 days after the summary period.

Q: Should I track transactions in my registered accounts (TFSA, RRSP, etc)?

A: If you hold or trade the same or identical properties in both your registered and non-registered accounts, or have moved shares between registered and non-registered, it may be a good idea to track your registered transactions to avoid surprise superficial loss denials. For details see the Affiliated Persons & Registered Accounts page.

Q: When should I use the "Initial Security Values" option instead of a summary spreadsheet entry?

A: Generally only if you have not had any buy or sell transactions for a security for more than 30 days.

In practice, especially for ease of record keeping, it is generally easier to save a summary spreadsheet entry, instead of using the Initial Security Values.