If you know the answer to this question, please post!

Scenario:  An Individual sales 100 shares of ABC Corp stock.  It was aquired 5 years ago for $10,000.   It is now being sold for $18,000.  The broker commission is 3%.  

Question:  Is the 3% commission even considered for this calculation of long-term gain or purely a distracter?  If it is in fact considered, does the 3% come off the $18,000 sales price or the $8,000 Gross Gain?

Answer:  O.K.  I got the answer from a former stock broker who now works in a tax practice.  If the stock is sold at a Gain, the 3% commission is taken off the $18,000 in this case.   So the $8,000 is actually reduced by $540(commission).  So, only $7,460 is taxable as LTCG.     Further, if the scenario was different and the stock was actually sold at a Loss, the commission is still taken off the Sales Price and that amount is added to the Basis...therefore increasing the capital loss.