How do you realize a loss on stock that you cant sell?

You should contact your brokerage firm you purchased the stock from give them the name of the stock and ask for a quote.

If your with a major firm they will either buy the stock from you at "a $1.00 for the lot", they will send you a notice "no quoted market for the stock". Either one of these will get you an accepted IRS write-off.

Depending on the amount of the loss, if it's not a material item, just take the loss. Be prepared to demonstrate that there was no quoted market for the stock.

Call your broker, most will do some transaction where they effectively buy it off you for a buck (or less) so you can book the loss.

If they have become worthless, then you just list it as a loss of whatever you paid for it. If they are worth something, even just $0.01, you have to stop owning them, even if it's by giving them away. A stock broker can help you with this.

No clue

Give them to a charity and claim that

You have to get a letter from a stockbroker saying they're worthless.

As long as you still own the stock, you can't realize the loss. The only way to realize the loss is if the corporation itself ceases to exist, in which case you own nothing anymore, or if you sell the stock. If nothing else, contact the corporation itself to see what it is willing to buy back those shares for.

Claim them as zero worth. If the IRS disagrees, pay your taxes "in kind" with the stock certificates.

Deduct your original purchase price as the loss.

https://www.bankrate.com/finance/taxes/writing-off...