I bought 100 intc on 2006-5-31 at $17.84 and sold then on 2006-10-11 at $21.10. The total profit is $326. But on my statement on oct-11, the Tax withheld is $590.52. How come I only made $326 profit but pay almost $600 tax?

我的帐号上显示的纪录是：

Cash Activity

USD
DateDescriptionAmount
2006-10-11US TAX WITHHELD @ 28% ON TRADE PROCEEDS OF 2109 USD-590.52
2006-10-11SEP BALANCE OF MONTHLY MINIMUM FEES-10.00
Total-600.52

IB customer service 的回答是：

The amount was correct. Please note that it was 28% on Trade proceeds
(28% x 2109) = $590.52

我的理解是只有对profit收税，因为我投入股票的钱是已经交过税的。而且我只赚了３００多刀却要交将近６００刀的税，感觉挺荒谬的。各位有相似的经验吗？怎样才是正确的Tax withhold?

股票的买卖报税应该是分开的吧

[此贴子已经被作者于2006-10-19 12:03:18编辑过]

Call your broker.  Taxes are only applicable to gross profit (sales price - purchase price) * volume less any fees you paid for the original purchase as well as sale (commission fees).   It appears you have incorrectly been 'taxed' on all sales revenues. 

Who is your broker btw?

first time hear this

ridiculous

The broker doesnt seem appealing according to their fees and charges:

$25 minimum per trade fee on stocks

IB caters to serious traders and investors and requires its customers to spend a monthly activity fee minimum which may include commissions, market data fees, and other fees. Those customers spending less then the activity fee minimums (as stated below) in any given month will be charged the difference.

我觉得这个是对的吧， withholding是对gross proceeds 来说的。

举另一个例子，一个外国人要将他在美国的房产卖掉，按照规定withholding 是他的房子的卖价的10％。所以在close的时候，如果卖价是300，000 agent就要扣下30，000 交给IRS。等你保税的时候，如果应交的税少于这个withholding，他就可以拿到refund。

按照我的理解，withholding都是按照gross proceeds 来算的，不会按照你的实际的gain来算的。gain到底是多少， 你保税的时候自己算，agent 是不管你的。

No need to worry! Although the withholding of 28% on gross proceeds does seem ridiculous, it is not the ACTUAL tax that you will be paying when you file 1040 at year end. Fill out your schedule D of the 1040 correctly - gross proceeds, cost, date of purchase, date sold, etc. Your gain is a short-term capital gain and the tax is calculated by taking your marginal tax rate, multiplied by gain on sale of stock. However, do not forget to include the tax withholding on the stock transaction to get a refund.