How do you report a 1099B Transaction from a joint account when filing separate returns?

[NCperson]

@skirsch52 - then each owns 50%.

can I ask out of curiousity can I ask why you are filing seperate? financially, filing MFS almost never makes sense.  96% of married couples file joint..... 

[skirsch52]

There are 100's of transactions to report.  to split each line and each column in 2 is not practical.  There must be a better alternative.

[skirsch52]

Almost never does not apply to my situation.  My deductions are significantly higher that my spouse and results in a tax savings of almost $1000.

[NCperson]

@skirsch52 - and you've tested by creating a joint return?  if you itemize, the spouse has to itemize as well; spouse is not permitted to take the standard deduction.  THe SALT limit is $5000 for EACH spouse in that circumstance.  Your incomes must be almost the same....the further apart the two incomes are, the more filing separate doesn't work. 

Congress protects the sactimony of marriage, so the laws are written to motivate the behavior to file "joint".... if 96% of married folks file "joint" doesn't it give you pause that maybe there is something incorrect in your approach? that last 4% simply can't agree to sign the tax return together or are naive to how the the tax rules work, 

[Mike9241]

no easy way to split - even pro software does not have a feature like this

about the only alternative is to report summary totals for 1/2 the Long term items and 1/2 for the short-term items. 

then you make 2 copies of the 1099-B and show on it where there are totals for short-term and long-term write in less 1/2 to spouse SSN XXX-XX-XXXX for one spouse and then the same for the other spouse. show the actual amounts being subtracted for each column.

then you use form 8453 to submit each copy of the 1099-B 

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8453.pdf 

read the instructions for timely filing

no guarantees this will work. the 1099-B is submitted to the iRS using only 1 SSN. so there is a possibility you'll get a notice because the gross proceeds reported won't match what the iRS has.  

[skirsch52]

I understand how it works.  If you can answer the question, please do so.  Otherwise stop wasting my time.

[skirsch52]

To NCperson:

It's like asking what size wrench to use to remove a spark plug and being told to buy an electric car.  I appreciate your concern but only need a specific answer to a specific question.   

[Username_Username_Username]

I'm also interested in getting this question answered (for tax year 2024).  In my case, I want to know how to report a 1099-B for a joint account with my sibling (our grandparents gave us a joint asset as a gift).  Clearly, I'm not going to file taxes jointly with my sibling. But that leaves us with two reporting options, right?

a.) Both of us report exactly what is on our 1099B form (verbatim), which means we're double counting proceeds/withholdings.

or

b.) Both of us report the proceeds/withholdings as if they were divided in half, which won't match the 1099B form we received.

Which is best?  

[NCperson]

b) - if ever questioned by the IRS you have an easy and documented explanation and the IRS can easily see that each of you reported half the 1099-B.