[GNC] Advanced Portfolio report of basis

[Sherlock]

Hi flywire,

Did you have a question?

Regards,

Sherlock

On 5/31/26 3:15 PM, flywire wrote:
> Sherlock,
> 
> I suppose "we" is you and your partner.

Yes. "We" is our household.

> 
> Fred described the process in
> https://www.gnucash.org/docs/v5/C/gnucash-guide/invest-retofcap.html
> and I have the same expectation as him in the reporting.

The approach described in the guide "works" but, in our opinion, not as 
well as the approach we use.  We're tracking cost basis by lot and using 
an income account for the security's return of capital.  The approach in 
the guide only provides an average cost basis.

> 
>> We track the acquisition date separately as Gnucash only tracks transaction dates.
> 
> I'd expect any share movement to be a transaction.

Fred's concern with our approach was with regard to reliably determining 
a lot's holding period.  This requires knowing the lot's acquisition 
date.  You might assume this is the date the lot was purchased - the 
date of the buy transaction, but that's only true in the "simple" case. 
Consider other transactions that impact the number of shares in a lot: 
stock mergers, spin-offs, splits, etc..

> Regards
> 
> On Sun, May 31, 2026 at 2:37 PM Sherlock <sh025622 at gmail.com
> <https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user>> wrote:
> 
>> * Hi Fred,
> *>>* The approach we use it to enter a transaction selling each lot's shares
> *>* at their current cost basis, purchasing the same number of shares of
> *>* each lot at their new cost basis, and recording the amount of capital
> *>* returned to an income account for the security.  We use a separate
> *>* transaction from the income account for the security to the account that
> *>* receives the return of capital.
> *>>* Regards,
> *>>* Sherlock
> *>>>* On 5/30/26 7:30 PM, Fred Tydeman wrote:
> *>* > I have a stock that has had a few Return of Capital transactions.
> *>* > They have been recorded as sell of zero shares at zero price for the
> *>* > Return of Capital dollar amount.
> *>* >
> *>* > When I look at the Advanced Portfolio report for that stock,
> *>* > the Basis price is the original purchase amount.  I am expecting that
> *>* > the Basis price to be original purchase amount - (sum of Return of
> *>* Capital).
> *>* >
> *>* > Did I record Return of Capital wrong?
> *>* > Is there a bug in the Advanced Portfolio?
> *>* >
> *>
> * > Is there a better way to find the basis of a stock?*