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How do I correct an error in the Form 8949? One of the stock cost basis is incorrect.

 
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4 Replies
MarilynG1
Expert Alumni

How do I correct an error in the Form 8949? One of the stock cost basis is incorrect.

Go back to your original 1099-B entry to change the Cost Basis of a Stock.

 

Type '1099b' in the Search area, then 'Jump to 1099b'.

 

Click this link for more info on How to Change Stock Cost Basis. 

 

 

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tmdjuly18
New Member

How do I correct an error in the Form 8949? One of the stock cost basis is incorrect.

I imported my 1099 data and wash sale data for Form 8949 on three different securities was $0.18, $0.21 and $0.32. Turbo tax entry was $0 on form and comes up as errors. I tried to change on line but cannot delete or change $0. The data was imported correctly and I assume it's rounded to $0 which is okay based on IRS. Given turbo tax indicates these are 3 errors cannot file my taxes. What can I do to resolve??.

 

How do I correct an error in the Form 8949? One of the stock cost basis is incorrect.

Yes, there is a fix, but this takes just a little work on your end unfortunately. It is worth it, however, as the alternative is to mail in your return. NOT something I would suggest especially given the year the IRS had in 2020 and is continuing to have with such overloads and not enough staff.

 

First, delete out the import since this is an "all or nothing" option (in most all tax preparation programs). Then, follow these suggestions that I've put together and have used for many years:

 

For the wash sales transactions, when you separate them out from the above information (thus giving you an additional "category" to enter), since TurboTax does round down to zero however a zero cannot be entered into this particular field for e-filing purposes (again, most all tax prep programs are the same), enter an even $1.00 amount as this (with there being only 3 transactions affected) will have no effect on your taxable income and related tax rate.

 

For any other transactions that are not wash sales, do the following (if no other 1099-B transactions, disregard the below):

 

A simple fix to this is, if you are able to extract your year end statement and it provides you with totals of S/T vs. L/T transactions (you might even have 4 different categories on your statement - depending on if basis was/was not reported to the IRS, so be sure to not miss any sections of the statement), you should separate them out yourself on a spreadsheet, tally up the information for each category of transaction, and enter as such. This is, making sure, of course, that the firm you use is providing you with cost basis and sales price as well as #shs per transaction.

You can also extract to Excel, but that takes more work than step one. What the IRS is looking for is the following:

1. Net S/T Capital Gains/<Losses> , based on purchase date, cost basis, sale date, and proceeds
2. Net L/T Capital Gains/<losses>, based on purchase date, cost basis, sale date, and proceeds

In short, each section of your statement that has a total that states "Has Been Reported to the IRS", will be treated as one transaction for taxability purposes. So, if you have 1, 2, 3, or 4 of these totals lines, then that would be the corresponding number of transactions you will have. Make sure that you do not include any section that starts with "Transactions NOT Reported to the IRS" as these are categorized already by your brokerage firm for you as non-reportable pieces of information.

 

ALSO, make sure you do not miss any dividend and interest income, Foreign Income Taxes Paid, etc., if your statement is all you rely on to report your information to the IRS. 

tmdjuly18
New Member

How do I correct an error in the Form 8949? One of the stock cost basis is incorrect.

Thank you for your help! I was able to edit the specific line item imported to correct. 

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