[nonbel]

There is no sale for dollars involved in the OP's scenario. Is there an actual sell in your scenario or is it "virtual"?

[jermaustin1]

There is no "real" sell on Vanguard to go from one fund to another, but regulations require them to mark it as a sale, and to denote the cost basis of the sale.

[nonbel]

Interesting, thanks.

[notyourday]

It also will be marked-to-market

[jermaustin1]

Interesting, I have never heard that term. I'm pretty uneducated in finance. I just have done great on my Vanguard Mutual Funds, and I keep them going.

[sowbug]

Bartering is taxable as well. This was the case even before computers were invented. See, e.g., https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/bartering-produces-taxable-inco...

[saalweachter]

To use the programming lingo that I hope a majority of HN users still recognize, they're like a sequence point.