shilohap, last year was a good year for me and I sold shares and paid a pretty hefty capitals gain. This year has been bad, bad, bad so if I sell for a loss, I should be able to use the loss against the gain from last year(last 3 years?)

personally I am thinking of taking a capital gain loss since I either have to use my last cash to pay tax advances, or sell at a loss but then do not pay advances. I don't like either option, but cash is king and I still need to buy BIM, right