Washington Mutual stock: Sell it and take the tax break

— -- Q: I owned shares of Washington Mutual in a taxable account. How do I claim my capital loss?

A: The story of Washington Mutual didn't have a happy ending for investors.

What do you do if you own the stock? First, sell the stock and take your loss. Since you own the stock in a taxable account, you can use the loss to offset any capital gains and, if you have more loss than gain, you can use the excess to reduce taxable income up to $3,000 a year. Any leftover loss can be carried forward to future years.

Just be sure to check on what commission your broker will charge. You want to make sure the fees don't exceed the tax break you will receive.

Matt Krantz is a financial markets reporter at USA TODAY and author of Investing Online for Dummies. He answers a different reader question every weekday in his Ask Matt column at money.usatoday.com. To submit a question, e-mail Matt at mkrantz@usatoday.com. Click here to see previous Ask Matt columns.