MarilynG1 -
In IRS Publication 561, "Determining the Value of Donated Property" , the IRS provides very specific guidance for valuing stocks and bonds. See page 5, the section "Stocks and Bonds". It states:
"The value of stocks and bonds is the FMV of a share or bond on the valuation date." It then provides a very specific description, as follows: "Selling prices on valuation date. If there is an active public market for the contributed stocks or bonds on a stock exchange, in an over-the-counter market, or elsewhere, the FMV
of each share or bond is the average price between the highest and lowest quoted selling prices on the valuation date. For example, if the highest selling price for a share was $11 and the lowest $9, the average price is $10. You get the average price by adding $11 and $9 and dividing the sum by 2." Thus, to be IRS compliant, the valuation method to determine the fair market value for donations of publicly traded stocks or bonds should be the average share price. Turbotax users should be able to select "average share price" for their valuation method and have it reflected properly on form 8283. Turbotax has already acknowledged this needs to get this fixed and are working to resolve the issue. Quoting from a post on 3/2/26 by MonikaK1 (Employee Tax Expert): "The issues with entries on Form 8283 and donations of stock have been reported by other users and have been elevated for investigation. It has since been confirmed as an issue by our development team. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and you can sign up here for updates." I'll say again that it is very frustrating for Turbotax users that want to properly file their tax returns that Turbotax is taking so long to correct this issue.
