Getting an error "Date acquired is after date sold". I sold put option on 05/14/2020 and closed on 05/28/2020. why turbo tax report this an error?

[DavidD66]

When you sold to open the position, that was the date you acquired the position.  And the date the option expired, or you bought to close the position is the date you disposed of the short position.  So, enter the date you acquired the position as the "purchase" date, and the date you disposed of the position as the date you "sold" the position.  The premium you received for selling the option is your proceeds.  If you bought to close the position, that would be your cost.  If it expired worthless, the cost basis is zero.

[naraharisubba]

Thanks for helping on this.

However, my brokerage 1099-B reported like this. How should I enter in turbo tax for the same?

box 1b: 05/28/2020 (Date Acquired)

box 1c: 05/14/2020 (Date Sold or Disposed)

[ThomasM125]

The reason for the dates is to determine if you held the investment long term or short term, so just pick dates that are not more than a year apart. In this case you can reverse the dates.

[naraharisubba]

Great. Thanks for helping on this. I can follow your suggestion. Why did turbo tax change this? When I filed taxes for the prior year, this was not an issue. Can Turbo tax fix this so that import from brokerages work effectively?

[defiantone]

I agree. This was not a problem in previous years so I do not understand why this was "fixed". I contacted my brokerage (e-trade) and they said the way they report it is correct and turbotax is incorrect. Now I have to "swap" a couple hundred trade dates. Very frustrated and honestly not sure I will continue with Turbotax after the amount of time I need to spend on this. Maybe I can mail it in but that even assumes Turbotax would populate the forms correctly since it won't let me e-file without fixing the dates.

[jsimski]

Thanks this is what I was doing. It would be helpful if there was a mass edit feature so you could go through all in a table at once vs. x number of clicks per transaction. I pity anyone with 100s of options.

EDIT: Being sent to first transaction after fixing one, only to have to click to the last page feels like a waste of time. I have to think some unlucky soul will have to attempt to explain why their return does not match their 1099B from Etrade.

[dampersand]

Greetings from the future!

THEY STILL HAVEN'T FIXED IT IN 2022.

Did you sell covered calls this year?  Go to some other tax software instead, or enjoy a couple hours of clicking through every call you sold.

[aataxes]

THIS IS NOT A REPLY TO you dampersand, but more of a comment for TURBOTAX. 

It does appear that you can override the issue this year.  It tells me that I have to review 339 things and that it won't take too long, then I go and do one (watch the spinning wheel for a while) and it produces a checkbox near the sold date with an X in it.  I clicked that and continued and now I only have 338 things to review.

I wish there was a way to IGNORE that sort of error.  We know it is there, we also know the IRS doesn't care and our brokers are going to always put the date sold as the earlier date in a SELL to OPEN transaction and the later date as the BUY to CLOSE transaction since that is what in fact happens.

So someone at TURBOTAX needs to get on board here or HR BLOCK is going to start to get a lot of business.  Do you have any idea how many short PUTS and CALLS are transacted every single day?  I have no money and I did 339 of them.  We use this product to make our lives easier not harder, get back on track here.

[wmkawaka]

Same here. Why did they change the algorithm? Now I need to enter into all the 150 option selling operations just to see the message "Date acquired is after date sold" and ignore it.

TT it would be great if you fix or make an easy button to ignore all at once.

[defiantone]

It is just ridiculous this still remains a problem. I do appreciate the feedback from the TT Expert where you can just enter the dates in the order that TT accepts, but where is the convenience of being able to import all of your trades. Look if you just have a few options trade, sure manual entry seems fine. Try hundreds of trades of opening and closing short and long positions. I can't keep getting frustrated over TT not allowing an IGNORE all for this "error". This is my last year for TT until this is resolved.

[sky5]

Hi

what you said is not correct,

Please refer to IRS PUB 550 for how to report on 8949

Quote:

"If an option that was granted (written) expired, enter the expiration date in column (b) 'Date acquired ' and enter “Expired” in column (e) 'Cost or other basis.'. Fill in the other columns as appropriate."

based on above IRS note, for selling a option and it expired, acquired date is expiration date not the date you sold to open the position. 

TT made the change since 2020 tax report , and it is still a issue in 2021 tax reporting, which is a headache for people to manually correct this false alert , which could be hundreds of expired option . please fix this issue and make it correct and matching what broker 1099b info that get imported... 

[geemonee]

It is pretty obvious TT doesn't know or doesn't care enough to fix this issue.  I wonder what provoked them to put in the date edit and it couldn't be that difficult to remove.  As noted, it removes the benefit of being able to import your trades if you have to spend hours flipping the buy and sell dates.  I've used TT online for 10+ years but considering a switch if this isn't resolved...but like the idea that my previous year return is pulled in and would prefer not to start over with another package.  That said, anyone researched other packages and have recommendations?  

[fanfare]

Why don't you complain to your broker for supplying you an incorrect form 1099-B ?

For instance, TD Ameritrade and Schwab know that Date Disposed must be on or after Date Acquired.

[sky5]

Hi Fanfare
I took a look with my TD 1099-B.

TD is not setting date correct, I will also complaint to TD as well. TD just simply make sold date same as acquire date  in case of like covered call or Orr her short option case, that apparently is not correct based on IRS instruction, sold/acquire date is not same day .

for TT side, I think if it can’t handle it automatically , at least give user a one click button to ignore such sold/acquire warnings instead of click hundreds of covered call one by one to ignore such warning.