Donation of securities 8283 -- "how acquired by donor"

[geoffboston]

Hello --

I donated three securities this year -- two were given to me in 1986 as a bar mitzvah present (yes, I'm old), and one was given last year by relatives as a gift. For each we have listed the appropriate basis. However, column (f) in each row asks "How acquired by donor." In the Form 8283 that Turbotax (desktop) generates, it is listed as "Purchase." However, these were gifted. At no point does Turbotax ask how these items were acquired. Is there a way to change this answer? The worksheet form doesn't seem to provide this information either. Thanks.

[KathrynG3 · Accepted solution]

Yes. To revisit this section in TurboTax, follow these steps:

• From the left menu, select Federal
• From the second tab from the left, Donations & Credits, scroll down to Donations to Charity 2019 and click Edit/Add
  • I created this scenario by going through the Item section of the contributions, not Stock, to see the Gift designation. If you started with Stock, I suggest deleting it and re-entering through Items if you prefer to select Gift for Purchase. 
• Review all your Charities click Edit next to the item to adjust
• Review your donations click Edit
• The Date of the donation will be listed; Click Continue
• The Category of the Donation should be selected; Click Continue
• Tell us about the items you gave to charity; Click Done with this Donation
• Enter the purchase info for the items you gave to charity; from the drop down menu on How Acquired, Gift is one of the options

It is acceptable in general to report the securities at the fair market value of the property at the time of the gift.

Please see 2019 IRS Publication 551 Basis of Assets page 9, middle column, Property Received as a Gift, to determine if any adjustment is necessary in your circumstances.

[geoffboston]

Perfect -- thank you so much for answering the question so rapidly. I really appreciate it.

[KathrynG3]

You're welcome! I am happy to help!

[tq3]

I wasn't able to get this method to show a way to override the "how acquired by donor" field. What is the best way to do this in 2024?