I have a WHFIT and am unsure how to handle the net proceeds that they take as a sales expense? I have owned it for several years and am unsure how to file this.

[PatriciaV]

Please clarify how the net proceeds of the Widely Held Fixed Investment Trust are reported to you. How did you report it in the past?

[JeffK8850]

It comes to me as a 1099-B Undetermined Term Transactions for Noncovered Tax Lots,  and shows as Proceeds Reported by Month, with additional information showing a Principal Payment Cost Basis Factor which changes by month. 

How I've handled it in the past was just showing the Cost Basis of $0 for each monthly transaction.  I end up over paying my taxes, but it's better that than having an error that costs me more in time and fines.

[U217]

I have wasted a lot of time on this WHFIT experience as well.  The security I bought does have a 17 page tax document that fails to provide any insight as to how to report this on our taxes.  Like you, I had Short Term Gains (Non-Covered) for 2025 - one for each month, to be exact - although not a single one of these allegedly short term sales appeared in any of my monthly statements from my brokerage firm.

Later on in my 1099-B, I had the WHFIT listed again, and the same amount of Short Term Gains was now listed as an "Investment Expense."  

I called my brokerage, and received no help.  I called the company (whose WHFIT is in my holdings) - same result.  I searched online too, but you've probably already guessed by now that they were of no help either.

My main question is this:  What is the point of calculating an adjusted cost basis if I have sold nothing?  I bought 250 shares in late 2024.  I still hold 250 shares in April of 2026, despite allegedly making 12 short term sales in 2025.  I have small monthly gains that are reported to the IRS, but how does one report an adjusted cost basis for something they didn't sell?  Nobody can answer that.  I did not sell a single share.  I did not sell even a fraction of a share.  

Like you, when I filed my taxes, I listed each tiny monthly gain as a short term sale because that is what my brokerage provided to the IRS on my 1099-B.  For my cost, I listed $0 and reported that my cost basis was missing.  On that next page, I reported an investment expense charge equaling each tiny gain.  I did that for each monthly gain.  Who knows if this is how it is supposed to be done or not - I can find no one who can tell me how to handle this - even my wife, who is an accountant.  All I know is that I was charged the exact amount of the proceeds I allegedly received.  Therefore, the way my rudimentary brain calculates things, I calculate that I gained absolutely nothing.  I came out neither ahead of behind - hence the gain/loss of $0.   

Of course, I have calculated the difference in my cost basis for this stock, which I wish I had never bought in the first place, but I will need to know that number when I eventually sell this pig off for a loss.  Until then, that number seems to be irrelevant.  

By all means, if someone has a better solution, please share it with all of us.  That will save a lot of headaches for everyone else who holds one of these WHFITs.

And TurboTax, it would be swell if you engineered a question into the Step-by-step system that asks if the security is a WHFIT.  That would be wonderful, provided that you provide a slick way of dealing with these things.

[AmyC]

When you own a WHFIT, you don't just own a "share"; you are considered a pro-rata owner of the underlying assets held by the trust.

• The Unseen Sales: If the trust sells an underlying asset (like a piece of property, a mortgage, or a mineral right) to pay for its own operating expenses, the IRS treats it as if you sold a tiny fraction of your holding to pay that bill.
• The Result: You get a 1099-B showing "Proceeds" (the amount used for expenses) and a corresponding "Investment Expense."

Entering the 1099-B:

1. For those monthly short-term gains (non-covered), you should report them in the Investment Income section:
2. Proceeds: Use the amount shown on the 1099-B.
3. Cost Basis: This is where it gets tricky. You technically have a basis in those "sold" fractions. Most investors use the Proceeds amount as the Cost Basis if the trust indicates the sale was purely for expenses. This results in a $0 gain/loss on the 1099-B.

You asked: "What is the point of calculating an adjusted cost basis if I have sold nothing?"

You actually must reduce your original purchase price basis by these tiny amounts every year. 

Example: If you bought your 250 shares for $5,000 and the trust had $10 in "expenses/sales" in 2025, your new adjusted basis is $4,990.

Lastly, to get the software developers to read your comments:
Once you file your return, as long as the settings to receive communication from Intuit don’t block it, you will see a pop-up message or receive an email with a survey asking you about your experience. We encourage you to leave your notes and comments there. “Voice of the Customer” notes and comments are read and acted upon. 

If you are using TurboTax Desktop, you can also leave feedback at the Final Steps tab.

@U217 

[HelenD]

Thank you so much to both the questioner (whose situation was almost exactly the same as mine) and to the answerer (that should be a word!) -- many many thanks after looking for something clear and definitive that addresses this issue!