Help with 1099-B

[avigo45]

I received a 1099-B from employer related to shares/stock options. 

(e) on the paper form I received does not have a value.

The description says "the cost basis (shares sold * Fair Market Value (FMV) per share reported in adjacent column"

There is an FMV value in the next column. Is this number I put under (e) or do I multiple this by the number of shares sold in (a)?

Just very confused. Thanks

[ThomasM125]

I'm not sure what the amount you reference refers to. You need to enter the sale proceeds and cost basis of the stock sale in TurboTax. I believe it is the cost basis that you are missing here.

The cost basis of employee stock is what you paid for it plus any discount income you benefited from equal to the fair market value of the stock when you acquired it less your cost for the shares. For instance, if you paid $5 for a share of company stock that was worth $8 when you acquired it, your cost basis would be $8, your cost plus the discount.

The discount is reported on your W-2 form as wage income in box 1 either in the year you acquired the stock or the year you sold it, depending on various factors. To determine the cost basis of the shares you sold, you would have to look at your W-2 form in either the year you acquired the stock or the year you sold it and see what the income was associated with the stock acquisition. Add that amount to what you paid for the stock and divide the sum by the number of share acquired to get the cost per share. Multiply that by the number of shares sold and you will have the cost basis to report when you enter your Form 1099-B.

There is also a routine you can go through in TurboTax when you enter your employee stock sale to determine the cost basis. For this, indicate that you have employee stock when you enter the stock sale and indicate that you need help determining the cost basis: