In this case, the company absolutely knows everything about the basis. The shares were transferred from an IRA account with the company to a taxable account with the same company, and their basis is their value on that day, which the company shows in the monthly statement and reports on Form 1099-R as the value of my husband's Required Minimum Distribution. In fact, on the December statement from the company, in a section entitled, "Schedule of Realized Gains and Losses Year-to-Date," the noncovered lots are listed with all the same info as the covered lots, including Date Acquired and Cost Basis. So that leaves "the company ... does not want to" or has some other reason.
