Realized Gain
A realized gain is profit recognized when an asset is sold or otherwise disposed of above its adjusted cost basis.
Gain and loss terms for realized gains, unrealized gains, profits, losses, and worthless securities.
Realized and Unrealized Gains terms connect investment results to tax treatment, transaction cost, realized gains, unrealized gains, credits, penalties, and account implementation.
Use this branch when after-tax return, cost basis, distribution type, jurisdiction, account wrapper, or realized-versus-unrealized status changes the analysis.
| Term | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Realized Gain | A tax, cost, distribution, or realized-status term that can change after-tax interpretation. |
| Realized Profits | A term page that narrows this branch to a specific investing concept, evidence source, or decision point. |
| Unrealized Gain | A tax, cost, distribution, or realized-status term that can change after-tax interpretation. |
| Unrealized Profit/Loss | A tax, cost, distribution, or realized-status term that can change after-tax interpretation. |
| Worthless Securities | A term page that narrows this branch to a specific investing concept, evidence source, or decision point. |
Check the tax jurisdiction, account type, holding period, cost basis, distribution character, realized status, documentation, and whether a professional tax conclusion is required.
This page is educational and does not recommend a specific investment strategy, security, tax treatment, or account choice.
Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.
A realized gain is profit recognized when an asset is sold or otherwise disposed of above its adjusted cost basis.
Realized profits are gains recognized after an investment or asset is sold, settled, or otherwise converted into a completed transaction.
An unrealized gain is a paper profit on an asset that has increased in value but has not yet been sold.
Unrealized profit or loss measures paper gains or losses on positions that remain open and have not been settled or sold.
Worthless securities are investments that have lost all practical value, often creating tax and accounting recognition questions.