Form 1099-B Worksheet: Capital Asset Sales may not contain a date after 12/31/2021

[jpslater]

I keep receiving a message to check an entry for a capital asset sale which contains a date after 12/31/2021. The sale date is in January 2022, but a comment on the document from my broker says:

"The fund company has determined that this dividend payment which you received in 2022 is reportable as taxable income for 2021."

How can I get past this error message?

[JohnB5677]

Please clarify what you are trying to post.  Is it a stock sale on a 1099-B, or a Dividend pay out on a 1099-DIV?

[jpslater]

It's a stock sale on a 1099-B

[JohnB5677]

If this is a stock sale listed on the 1099-B it should be posted with the sale date listed on the form, and it should be a 2021 date.  If the sale was in 2022 it should not be on the 1099-B.

If this was a dividend, it should have a 1099-DIV associated with it that would reflect the 2021 distribution.

Forgive me if I'm missing something.

[Bondy_joel]

I'm getting the same error with data downloaded from Merrill Lynch. It happened last year, too. I'd hoped that whatever the problem is, it had been resolved. What does one do?

[JohnB5677 · Accepted solution]

If you actually sold the stock near the end of the year the issue may be with the trade date vs the settlement date.  The trade date is the date that the transaction was agreed to, and is often a few days before the settlement date which concludes the transfer between accounts.

The sale date for tax purposes is when the trade is made, rather than on its settlement date when the stock is delivered and payment is made.

If you did make the trade at the end of the year you should simply change the date to 12/31.

[Bondy_joel]

Thanks for the prompt reply! The transactions at issue have the same date sold and date acquired. In one transaction they say both are 1/22/2022. Another has them as 1/25/2022. The cost basis and sale price are the same, so they're net zero transactions.  

[Bondy_joel]

Since they were generated by Merrill Lynch and imported, do I switch to form view and delete the offending rows?

[jpslater]

I think this is the case. Thanks for your reply. I've changed the date to 12/31/21.

[DianeW777]

Yes, you can delete the offending rows for two reason, one they closed or settled in 2022 which should not show up on your statement, and two because they do have a zero gain/loss.

Second option (not necessary based on your information), you can just go in to edit the date of sale and change it to 2021. The effect on your tax return will remain the same with zero gain or loss.

Keep the documents in your file should you need them later regardless of which method you choose to use.

@Bondy_joel

[Edited: 03/22/2022 | 1:29p PST]

[jpslater]

Thank you!