A Greek trireme. A Trireme is an ancient oar-driven warship powered by about 170 oars men. It was long and slender, had three tiers of oars and one sail. On the bow was a battering ram that was used to destroy enemy ships. The tip of the ram was made of bronze and could easily slice through the side of a wooden ship.
When you buy 1,000 shares of Ford at $14 and your broker charges you a $10 commission, your cost basis is $14,010 for those shares. That transaction is given a unique tax lot ID so you and the IRS can track those shares separately from other Ford stock you might buy later.
Find out which cost basis method is your current default. If youâve never checked, chances are youâre defaulted into FIFO for stocks and âaverage cost, single categoryâ for mutual funds. Talk with your Schwab Financial Consultant or call 800-355-2162. Adjust your defaults if theyâre not what youâd like them to be, and pay attention to what method youâre using the next time you sell. If youâre a Schwab client, you can use a cost basis method called the Tax Lot Optimizerâ¢.