Thanks @jimmys1 - I really wish I would have skipped to the end of this thread to get the summary instead of wasting a half hour coming to the same conclusion.
TurboTax really needs to clarify in the field help what users should put into the Cost Basis for different circumstances. Since the IRS says it should NOT be zero in their official instructions, for TurboTax to require a ZERO is simply not a good solution.
It seems a simply coding change to say "if acquisition date is Various", allow field to be blank". Or create a checkbox, "have you held this stock for longer than one year?" If you check the box, the cost basis field can be left blank.
