Fidelity put the date acquired as the date I transferred the stocks to them (1/7/16), but I had actually had since 10/6/94. With Fidelity using the wrong date acquired and calculating the wrong cost basis, they are reporting a loss to the IRS when it is actually a gain. I want to make sure I'm putting the correct information in there, but wondering if I need to contact Fidelity so that they can change it on their end too since they reported this to the IRS. Will I be flagged by the IRS if my information does not match the form, if I change it?
Enter the information you know to be correct, not what was reported by Fidelity (if it was wrong).
This is very common and should not create any issue with the IRS. They are primarily concerned that the "Proceeds from Sale" amount is reported accurately.
A couple of comments:
Taxpayers have adjustments all the time on this form. We aren't able to predict if this will cause any issue, but the key is you need to be able to provide proof of the correct basis if questioned. If you have that, then there will not be any issues.