Do TurboTax “Rounded” 1099-B input entries need to be manually “corrected” to be consistent with 1099-B reported to IRS?

[kurushvi]

Are they going to fix it or do we have to dump them and move to some other platform ?

[kurushvi]

TT does support uploading the 1099-B to be sent to IRS along with your return. There was an option to upload it when I entered summary amounts manually.

Also, If I enter the summary amounts manually how do I get over the 10 million limit at TT. Do I just split my amounts into multiple lines so that each line is under 10 million?

[sophieluu1606]

@DianeW777 If you re-read what you quote from the IRS, it does say this at the end: "If you have to add two or more amounts to figure the amount to enter on a line, include cents when adding and only round off the total."

IRS clearly says to include cents when adding and only round off total to figure the amount to enter on a line. Following this, all Proceeds for each line should be added with cents to get the total then round off, same for Cost Basis and Gain/Loss. TurboTax program is currently rounding Proceed and Cost Basis first then computing the total and Gain/Loss - which is not correct following IRS instruction and creating huge difference.

[AmyC]

Another option, type in 4 lines manually. Each line is the total for that type of transaction. The IRS has the same brokerage statement and totals. 

Enter the totals for each:

• short term covered
• short term non-covered
• long term covered
• long term non-covered

@sophieluu1606

@kurushvi       You can enter multiples of a line type, if needed, for your transactions.

[fanfare]

@kurushvi 

Exciting to hear that TurboTax has finally added this option (attach PDF), which has been available in other tax software for years.

[Scooby19]

I am sure you feel your response and experience with TT is accurate.  But I have had to deal with those IRS folks twice and I do not want to open the door at any point.  So "fudging" the numbers is not in my arsenal.  TT should by definition and intent, solve any of these rounding issues.  for me to have to go into a form and edit it a dollar one way or the other is BS.

[ReneeM7122]

You're correct, The IRS wants things to be correct and exact, and it can be frustrating to deal with them.  However regarding rounding, the IRS has provided clear language that instructs us to round up when the amount is 50 cents and over, and down when it's 49 cents and lower.  It isn't considered fudging because this is the way they want it done.  

Here it is from their website (under "Computations"): https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch01.html  

Computations

The following information may be useful in making the return easier to complete.

Rounding off dollars.

You can round off cents to whole dollars on your return and schedules. If you do round to whole dollars, you must round all amounts. To round, drop amounts under 50 cents and increase amounts from 50 to 99 cents to the next dollar. For example, $1.39 becomes $1 and $2.50 becomes $3.

If you have to add two or more amounts to figure the amount to enter on a line, include cents when adding the amounts and round off only the total.

If you are entering amounts that include cents, make sure to include the decimal point. There is no cents column on Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

Equal amounts.

If you are asked to enter the smaller or larger of two equal amounts, enter that amount.

Negative amounts.

If you file a paper return and you need to enter a negative amount, put the amount in parentheses rather than using a minus sign. To combine positive and negative amounts, add all the positive amounts together and then subtract the negative amounts.

[Anonymous]

Hi.  Not to be "combative" but it clearly states   "...If you have to add two or more amounts to figure the amount to enter on a line, include cents when adding the amounts and round off only the total. ..."  Right from the Computations section you sent me to.  I think they have to fix this.  It seems incorrect.

[ReneeM7122]

No worries, you're not being combative, just smart.  Rounding is standard from TurboTax and other  platforms.  So let's leave the IRS page aside for the moment and I will try to provide a technical solution that I hope will solve the issue.

The error messaging you are seeing with regard to the wash sale entries is a result of automatic rounding of the number imported from your broker or typed in by you.  If the wash sale adjustment is $0.49 or less, then it is automatically rounded to zero.  Unfortunately, zero is not a valid value for this field -- thus the error message.

To resolve the issue, you can edit each individual transaction and delete the amount entered in the wash sale adjustment if it is $0.49 or less.  This will clear the error message.  

To do this, you will need to revisit the input section for the Form 1099-B transactions.  Use the following steps:

• On the top row of the TurboTax online screen, click on Search (or for CD/downloaded TurboTax locate the search box in the upper right corner)
• This opens a box where you can type in “1099-B” and click the magnifying glass (or for CD/downloaded TurboTax, click Find)
• The search results will give you an option to “Jump to 1099-B”
• Click on the blue “Jump to 1099-B” link
• Click Edit beside the institution name
• Click Edit beside each transaction that contains a wash sale adjustment amount of $0.49 or less
• Delete the wash sale adjustment amount and click Done

Answer from AnnetteB6

@Anonymous

[sophieluu1606]

@ReneeM7122 I'm sorry, but do you even read what you quoted from the IRS website?

"Rounding off dollars.

You can round off cents to whole dollars on your return and schedules. If you do round to whole dollars, you must round all amounts. To round, drop amounts under 50 cents and increase amounts from 50 to 99 cents to the next dollar. For example, $1.39 becomes $1 and $2.50 becomes $3.

If you have to add two or more amounts to figure the amount to enter on a line, include cents when adding the amounts and round off only the total."

That last sentence has clearly said to only round after adding original number with cents. TT software is round Proceed and Cost first before computing, which is the opposite of what the IRS says. I hope you guys actually read the whole thing before responding the generic quote again.

[mpinks]

It's really disappointing that this thread is labeled "resolved" when it clearly isn't. As others have pointed out, the IRS states "If you have to add two or more amounts to figure the amount to enter on a line, include cents when adding the amounts and round off only the total." Meaning the line items should include cents and only the total should be rounded. My total is off by about $30, which is enough for me to be concerned. TT needs to fix this.

[gamer_jedi]

Agree that this should be fixed.  There's no reason to round it in the individual transactions, since it makes no sense to do this from a logical or legal standpoint.  It makes sense to round the end result on the final worksheet form that goes to the IRS, as it states, but not the intermediary calculations.  For anyone who has sufficient volume of transactions, this could end up being a huge difference.  Imagine a day-trader who uses ToS or ActiveTraderPro and has 100s of transactions a day...   

This really needs to be addressed.

[rockdoctor]

Ok, let's distinguish between clearing TurboTax errors and misreporting your tax liability. If I have 10 transactions that are all wash sales for disallowed loss of $0.49 cents each, my aggregate disallowed loss is $4.90, which rounded is $5. If I round all the wash sales to $0 first, then aggregate, my disallowed loss is $0. As you can see, in doing so I have "stolen" $5 of deductible losses that should have been disallowed. 

[MaxTax00]

I completely agree. This is embarrassing TurboTax. Fix it. It was not a problem last year,  but this year anyone with hundreds of transactions is going to have issues reconciling their numbers precisely with their 1099-B. Do not round the intermediary calculations....only the end result!  If this is not fixed, we are left to hunt for where the variance comes from between what TurboTax calculates and the 1099-B reports .  We can't just assume the variance comes from rounding. The purpose of having everything reconcile/tie out is that you know all your data is clean.  If someone has a variance now then they might assume it it is just rounding when there could be another problem coupled with it.

[Anonymous]

It does seem that the IRS gives some "vague" guidance on page 2 the 8949 instructions: 

"Rounding Off to Whole Dollars
You can round off cents to whole dollars
on Form 8949. If you do round to whole
dollars, round all amounts. To round, drop
cent amounts under 50 cents and
increase cent amounts over 49 cents to
the next dollar. For example, $1.49
becomes $1 and $1.50 becomes $2."

I highlighted the CAN and IF...  seems like the IRS was making things easier for people MANUALLY filling out the form... not for software which can easily do the math.  NEEDS to be fixed, I'm losing more with the rounding than it would cost to buy an other software program that gets it right...  

By the end of the week, a 20 year turbo tax customer will be saying goodbye.