topic undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, SLV etc) in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, SLV etc)

mccshark — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 18:34:45 GMT

What do I select for sales section and should I just enter $0.00 for cost basis? Note, no one at Turbotax seems to know an easy way to enter cost basis.

Re: undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, SLV etc)

Critter-3 — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 18:46:04 GMT

Good Grief ... all this fuss over $17 of a return of principal ?

Just make one entry in the system ...

Re: undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, SLV etc)

mccshark — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 19:25:18 GMT

Thanks, but you're not helping, it's not that simple. There's 2 more screens of information that Turbotax requires.

It would be great if one of Turbotax's CPA could answer definitively. Too many people are guessing on how to report these sales.

Re: undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, SLV etc)

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 19:45:54 GMT

here's an explanation:

iShares® Gold Trust
2019 Grantor Trust Tax Reporting Statement
EIN: 816124036
CUSIP: 464285105
Ticker: IAU

The following information is being provided to assist Shareholders of the iShares® Gold Trust with reporting of their taxable income and expenses for the period January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019, pursuant to Treasury Regulation Section 1.671-5. Under this regulation, the iShares® Gold Trust is considered a "non-mortgage widely held fixed investment trust."

The example provided herein is based on a U.S. individual Shareholder who purchased its iShares® Gold Trust shares for cash. All Shareholders should contact their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of the information reported in iShares® Gold Trust Data below.

TAXATION OF THE TRUST
The iShares® Gold Trust is a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, the Trust itself is not subject to U.S. federal income tax. Instead, the Trust’s income and expenses “flow through” to the Shareholders.

TAXATION OF U.S. INDIVIDUAL SHAREHOLDERS
Shareholders generally will be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as if they directly owned a pro rata share of the underlying assets held in the Trust. Shareholders also will be treated as if they directly received their respective pro rata shares of the Trust’s income and proceeds, and directly incurred their pro rata share of the Trust’s expenses. Most state and local tax authorities follow U.S. Income tax rules in this regard. However, Shareholders should contact their own tax advisors as to the state and local tax consequences of ownership of IAU shares.

The Trust holds only gold bullion and, accordingly, received no income during the year.

Trust expenses, which are miscellaneous itemized deductions for shareholders, are no longer deductible for individuals in 2019. However, the sale of gold to cover trust expenses is used to calculate each shareholder's tax basis.

Because the Trust sold only a de minimis amount of gold for payment of Trust expenses during the year and made no distributions of sale proceeds to its Shareholders, under Treas. Reg. Sec. 1.671-5(c)(2)(iv)(B) the Trust is not required to report the gross proceeds of Trust sales to its Shareholders. However, for those Shareholders who wish to have this information, it is contained in the attached 2019 Gross Proceeds File.

based on the above I'm not sure why your broker is reporting sales proceeds. however, I agree that no gain/loss should be reported

Re: undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, SLV etc)

Critter-3 — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 19:53:14 GMT

The sales are posted as Return of Principal with is a wash ... so for all those that look that way make one consolidated entry and move on. Otherwise ask the broker to explain why these are non covered sales to begin with .

Re: undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, SLV etc)

mccshark — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 19:57:22 GMT

Thanks, I've read that doc too.

I've got 24 different transactions, I just need to know what boxes to check in Turbotax and whether I should report cost as zero or the same price as what was sold to pay fees.

Re: undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, SLV etc)

Critter-3 — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 20:10:23 GMT

stop going down the long winding path ... delete and start again ... see screenshot ... basis same as sale price... it is a WASH ... and choose long or short term and non covered your choice since it will not make any difference ...

Re: undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, SLV etc)

mccshark — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 21:31:59 GMT

Thanks. I took your advise and added Box1e so it was equal to box 1c on my 1099-B. In other words, I made it a wash.

I clicked through the rest of the UI this way:

Re: undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, SLV etc)

craftindo — Wed, 05 May 2021 05:16:19 GMT

From my understanding, this is your investment fee.

BUt the mechanic, i dont' know enough yet.

Re: undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, SLV etc)

maxo — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 21:04:15 GMT

Critter-3

Level 15

Any chance you could repost the image, it is not showing up anymore.

I have the exact same issue. Imported the form from Vanguard. And all of the entries with

show "needs review".

Is the suggestion to delete all these entries and add a single entry with

"sales section:

short/long basis (noncovered)

What should I put for the other boxes? As it still shows a "needs review"

Re: undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, S...

MichelleLO — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 21:18:23 GMT

Please see the below TurboTax Help Article for assistance with fixing your "needs review" transactions.

How do I fix multiple “Needs Review” transactions?

Re: undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, SLV etc)

prs184 — Sun, 10 Apr 2022 03:53:41 GMT

I have the exact same issue. Please let me know how you resolved it? Please share the screenshot of solution.

Re: undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, S...

HeatherPLO — Sun, 10 Apr 2022 14:07:54 GMT

Please see the above comment by @MichelleLO to resolve your "needs review" transactions.

If you need further assistance, please post your question here in the thread, and someone will reach out with the next steps.

@prs184

Re: undetermined term transactions for noncovered tax lots (Precious metal ETFs i.e., GLD, IAU, SLV etc)

gretch — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 18:47:44 GMT

To Determine your basis for IAU - ishares gold EFT go to

https://costbasistools.com/gold/iau.php

enter your purchase date, total cost, number of shares, and it will generate a table for each year with your share of gold sold and your basis. I expect it has the same thing for other precious metal funds. Thank you costbasistools!