My 1099-B Date Acquired is blank. Selected that in manual input (wages section) but then when I go to e-file is showing up as an error and is not letting me file.

[diegui1985]

The 1099-B form that I received from Vangard has the Date Acquired as a -blank-. I've selected this option in the manual entry of the form from the wages section. When I got to e-file my taxes is asking me to fill out the date acquired for the forms and not letting me keep it as as blank. Not sure what to do here, please help.

[ThomasM125]

You need to report the date acquired as the sale may be taxed differently if it is a short term sale (held less than one year) or long term (more that one year). You will need to enter a date depending on how long you held the investment before it was sold. If more than one year, you can enter an estimate if you have one, or any date that will result in a period of ownership of more that one year.

[elisaheine77]

It seems a bit sketchy to "make-up" a date for long-term holdings. Should I just choose one of my transactions dates from the previous year? There could be many.

[gloriah5200]

Check your records and use the date from your records for this exact transaction.  How did you pay for the purchase?  Can you check your bank records or whatever method you would have used to purchase the assets?  Any reasonable method is generally acceptable if you are using the best of your ability.

If  you are planning to use an estimate, you must first have records that show whether it was a long-term or short-term holding period for supporting documentation in case IRS questions.  We are not saying to just make up a date.  There has to be some reasonable method used.

If you nor the brokerage company have no records that show the dates or whether it was long-term or short-term, choosing to use the short-term holding period would be the safer choice, but less advantageous on your return than the long-term holding period when dealing with IRS.