How do I fix TurboTax won't let me enter date acquired for stock on 1099-B worksheet?

[tlosavio]

This is on "Check this Entry" menu.

[RayW7]

You will need to enter a "Date Acquired". 

One option is to  enter 'various'. Various covers all the dates you made the acquisition. It is fine to use various so long as all the sold dates are more than one year after purchase date of the specific security.

If the "Date Acquired" field is blank on your Form 1099-B, it means the Payer didn't have that information. You would need to provide an answer from your records or enter a date that is consistent with the holding period.

If you held the security for more than 1 year, then enter a  "Date Acquired"  that is more than 1 year before the date you sold the security.  

If you held the security for less than 1 year, then enter a  "Date Acquired"  that is less than a year before the date you sold the security (1/1/2015 will work).

If you aren't sure how long you held the security, try looking for the "Box" or "Code" on your 1099-B.

If Box A or B is checked, then the holding period was less than one year. 

If Box D or E is checked, then the holding period was more than one year. 

[Takingtoolong]

I have the same issue, the Date Acquired is not missing to begin with for any of my entries, but TurboTax insists I enter it again, and again, and again for the same entry to complete filing, it's nerve racking.  I recently went in and selected various and saved everything and went back to file, only to be pushed back to the same entry once again when I tried to file, this is madness, and clearly a programing issue that is holding me back from filing.

[LindseyLO]

More guidance and details that will guide you through this error has been provided by clicking here.

[ConnorNYC]

Hi,

This issue persists and this link doesn't work. Can you please provide renewed guidance?

Thanks,

Connor

[RobertB4444]

@ConnorNYC  This issue comes from importing the 1099-B.  If the data just won't work then the best thing to do is to delete the 1099-B,  enter section summary totals and then attach a pdf copy of the 1099-B to the return after.  

[ConnorNYC]

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the reply. Two follow-ups:

1. You said this comes from importing the form, but I entered the form manually. Is that still what is causing this?

2. I had done the sales totals, but there is no way to correct the basis on sales totals, just to adjust the total gain or loss. This seems less correct to me than reporting a missing basis - is that the case?

Thanks,

Connor

[MarilynG]

If you have sales that require a Cost Basis Adjustment, you have a choice.

You can enter these sales as a separate 'summary category' and enter amount for  'Total Adjustment to Gain', with Code B (screenshot).

OR,  if it's only one (or few) sales that require the Cost Basis Adjustment, you can enter these sales separately, along with the Category Totals for other sales for Form 8949. 

Click this link for more info on Cost Basis Adjustment Codes. 

@ConnorNYC

[taxpayer40401]

This is especially frustrating because the amounts generated by Betterment/Wealthfront's tax loss harvesting features are fairly minuscule and, obviously, if those robo advisors didn't provide the numbers, a retail investor isn't going to be able to furnish them. This is just sloppy programming with logical fallacies. Loading this embedded sheet is the slowest part of the filing experience, and it re-loads for every missing date. So, 30 times I had to enter a blank. There was no validation informing me that blanks were not accepted (despite the process moving forward). So then at the end of the filing process I had to enter stub dates 30 more times, with no indication of whether it was working or not, and some dates required me to approve 2 or even 3 times. 

The software behind this feature barely works--it doesn't even tell you what row you're filling in on each pass! Then, when scrolling through the embedded form, there is lag and a huge portion of the information is cut off. It appears this hasn't been investigated by an engineer since first being reported, I strongly recommend it should be.

[BanjoRon]

The only thing that fixed it for me was going to the forms and putting the date acquired in Line 22, column f (date vested—Turbotax left this blank).  In other words, it allowed me to file when I had column c (date acquired) and column f (date vested) with the same entries.  

[the6thbook]

This is still a problem in 2025.  $200 every year for this software and it can't import a 1099-b.

[the6thbook]

Also try a time the turbotax is less busy such as 6 in the morning.  It seems like it saves better then.

[the6thbook]

This link just gives "Access Denied"

[BrittanyS]

If you are referring to the Cost Basis Adjustment link provided by MarilynG, try this link:

• Cost Basis Adjustment

You can also try clearing your cache and cookies and resigning into the community.

@the6thbook