Can this problem and solution be pushed further beyond here to fix a software issue that was provided to me by long-time Turbotax customer, Mr. Walter R. Niessen?

[torrescharfauros]

1. The Problem In 2024, I sold units of several Master Limited Partnerships (MLP). As you know, the dividends paid by MLPs are untaxed (behaving as a return of capital) but accumulate as a reduction in the cost basis from the original purchase price. As time passes, this results in a progressively smaller value for the “purchase price cost basis”. In my situation, I had purchased several units (shares) of Cheniere Energy Partners (CQP) in 2011and by 2024, the accumulated dividends significantly exceeded the original purchase price. Therefore, the “adjusted” basis purchase price became negative. TT cannot accept a negative value but it “said” that zero was acceptable. When you are ready to calculate the gain, TurboTax (TT) subtracts the “adjusted” purchase price from the selling price (less the selling expense) to calculate the net capital gain. If you (could) use a negative purchase price, that would add to the selling price to yield a higher and “true” value for the profit. A zero, however, understates the gain. That bothered me as I want to pay the correct tax and that means that although a negative purchase price value gives the correct result for capital gain it is forbidden by TT’s code. Further, Page 2 of 2 TT is also bothered by the zero price input so it won’t let you E-file. Neither will the two states I file in.

[PatriciaV]

You may wish to review this TurboTax article for step-by-step instructions for entering an MLP sale into TurboTax. It's possible this path may resolve the zero/negative price issue you have encountered. See How do I report the sale of Publicly Traded Partnerships (PTPs) or Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs...