Also called cost basis · purchase cost
Acquisition cost, explained
Record it per name, at the time of purchase. A hand registration costs the registration fee. An aftermarket purchase adds the price, any buyer-side commission, escrow fees and the transfer, which for a gTLD typically includes a year of renewal. An expired name adds the auction price or catch fee, and a registry premium name carries its premium price.
Acquisition cost is half of the economics; holding cost is the other half. The return on a name is the net sale proceeds minus what you paid and every renewal since, so a cheap name held for many years can end up costing more than a pricier one sold quickly. Keep receipts: in many tax systems what you paid to acquire a name forms its cost basis for calculating gains, but treatment varies by country, so consult a qualified tax professional.
Example. The investor's acquisition cost was the winning auction bid plus the transfer fee, the figure later used to calculate the gain when the name sold.
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