We all hate to lose money on a purchase or investment. Sometimes
a little tax relief can help ease the pain if you can deduct the
loss against capital gains you've realized, but often that very
real loss is a 'nothing' for tax purposes.
One type of property that doesn't give rise to a tax loss is
what's called 'personal use property.' If you bought a
personal use vacation property, for example, and sold it at a loss,
you wouldn't be able to deduct the capital loss against other
capital gains. If, on the other hand, you sold it for a gain, that
would be taxable. There are special rules to deal with small items
where the purchase price and the cost of the property are less than
$1,000. Generally speaking, sales of low value personal items
don't result in taxable events.
