1099-B Worksheet does not let me change disallowed wash sale amount

[Jim Laurent]

I'm using TurboTax desktop for MacOS FP 4.3.5.  I have imported capital gains information from Betterment.com.  During the final error check, TurboTax reports: Disallowed wash sale amount should not be 0. Enter amount disallowed under wash sale rules or leave blank if entire loss is disallowed. It does not, however, let me change the number or delete it.  I cannot complete my taxes without removing this error issue.

Please clarify how to fix this issue.

[AnnetteB6]

The changes required cannot be performed through the error check process.  You must go to the input section to make the changes.

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.  This type of rounding is allowed by the IRS.  Unfortunately, zero is not a valid value for this field -- thus the error message.

To resolve the issue, you can edit each individual transaction (although not from the screen in the review process) 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

If you have too many transactions that would require editing, you can consider deleting your imported information and entering a summary of the different categories of transactions reported on your Form 1099-B (short-term covered, short-term not covered, long-term covered, long-term not covered).  This would require you to mail a copy (not the original) of your Form 1099-B from your brokerage to the IRS within three days of filing your return.  The Form 1099-B would be attached to Form 8453, which will print with your return.  

[randy42]

Running into the same issue. The steps you've laid out work to address the issue, so thanks for that. I just don't understand how TurboTax has this issue. It's trivial to check if the wash sale amount is .49 or less, then don't check the wash sale box. That's why we're buying this software, not so we can manually do a bunch of little things.

[DArtis]

I’ve went back to the 1099 and changed the amount to blank if it was 0 but it still says the same thing when I go back to review it .

[DecadenceNow]

Or you could fix the bug immediately and allow users to recover from the error your software created instead of forcing us to manually weed through hundreds of transactions. 

[Accurmi]

Wow. So you know that there is a bug in the system, but as usual, you do nothing about it but outsource the problem to the customers via this forum? 

What a non-solution. 

[AnnetteB6]

This issue is currently being investigated and addressed by the appropriate team.  In the meantime, see the information below for two possible workarounds -- editing each individual transaction affected, or entering a summary of your transactions and possibly submitting Form 8453 and your documentation to the IRS.

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.  This type of rounding is allowed by the IRS.  Unfortunately, zero is not a valid value for this field -- thus the error message.

To resolve the issue, you can edit each individual transaction (although not from the screen in the review process) 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

If you have too many transactions that would require editing, you can consider deleting your imported information and entering a summary of the different categories of transactions reported on your Form 1099-B (short-term covered, short-term not covered, long-term covered, long-term not covered).  This may require you to mail a copy (not the original) of your Form 1099-B from your brokerage to the IRS within three days of filing your return.  The Form 1099-B would be attached to Form 8453, which will print with your return.  

@DArtis

@DecadenceNow

@Accurmi

[kcupper1108]

Having the exact same issue, couldnt edit the '0' when it comes to Wash Sale disallowed whatever...Plz look in to this and get it fixed asap! thank you!

[JohnB5677]

To enter a disallowed Wash sale:

Income & Expenses

1. Scroll to Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Other
2. Answer Yes to Did you sell stocks, mutual funds, bonds, or other investments in 2020?
3. On the OK, what type of investments did you sell? screen, select Stock, Bonds, Mutual Funds. Then select Continue.
4. From here, you can import or manually enter your 1099-B.
5. Answer the questions about your sales. Choose to Enter sales one by one when asked.
6. On the Now, we'll enter one sale on your 1099-B screen, enter your info.
7. Check I have other boxes on my 1099-B to enter and enter the disallowed wash sale loss in box 1g.
8. Select Continue and answer any follow-up questions.

Note: You'll need TurboTax Premier, TurboTax Live Premier, or TurboTax Self-Employed, TurboTax Live Self-Employed, to add any 1099-B forms.

 A wash sale occurs when an investor sells or trades a security at a loss, and within 30 days before or after, buys another one that is substantially similar.

• It also happens if the individual sells the security at a loss, and their spouse or a company they control buys a substantially similar security within 30 days.
• The wash-sale rule prevents taxpayers from deducting a capital loss on the sale against the capital gain. 
• Wash Sale Rule

[kcupper1108]

But the fundamental problem is that we as Turbotax users can not edit the '0' when TurboTax can fix the issue... Many of us tock traders have thousands of trades. 

[kcupper1108]

Can we please get this issue fixed from Turbotax's end? It can be solved easily when Turbox allows '0' as an input. 

[Travisnelso]

So I just chose to file my return through the mail because even after manually trying to adjust the wash sale it still wouldn’t work. Will I just need to send in the federal return or do I need to print off my 1099 and send that as well.

[Accurmi]

Right. I understand all of that and have even done it for one of my transactions. Yet, there are many. 

It seems all of the "support" folks on here are missing the point. We pay you for a service. Part of that service includes handling our investment transactions as has happened in years past. However, this year, that service is failing and your "solution" is to make your customers do part of your job while still charging the same amount. If I wanted to manually go through every transaction and enter it myself, I would have done that. But, I don't want to do that. Hence my presence on this forum. 

Your solution isn't actually a solution. Calling it a "workaround" is a nice euphemism for "do it yourself and we will still charge you the same amount." You aren't actually fixing anything, you are outsourcing your job (providing a tax filing service) to your customers. 

If I go through and manually fix every error caused by your faulty program, will I receive a discount, since I am doing the work myself? 

See how this works? 

[mdbill]

Could you let us know if this simple bug will be fixed or if we have to use this tedious workaround. Thx in advance

[aivy2310]

I followed all the steps. Went back to the original entry but I couldn't see the error entry to fix. More specific, I couldn't see the entry that they want me to fix the wash sale disallowed and the error keeps stopping me from going further