This refers to a transaction where an investment returns capital to the investor and doesn't have any accounting implications other than reducing the cost basis. The number of shares held is not changed.

A Return of Capital transaction can be entered in the stock register by entering the stock split with:

The other side of the double entry would usually be a debit to the brokerage bank account.

Figure 9.38. Example Of Return Of Capital Transactions

An image of the Stock Account register after a return of capital.

	Note
	It is not possible to use the Stock Split Assistant to do this type of transaction.

	Tip
	If you accidentally entered a non-zero price in the stock split, GnuCash may have created an unwanted price database entry which could cause reports to be wrong. Check for and remove such an unwanted entry from the price database using Tools → Price Database.