BUG: ESPP Income - Cost basis computation

[wilfsdad1965]

i have exactly the same problem as of 2/14.

I have entered 2 espp stock  sales, for 62 shares and 536 shares.

Doing the walk  through on the first sale it asks for 3922 info and i  enter it , and it works out an adjusted cost basis correctly.

When i  enter the second sale and try to  do the walk  through and add the 3922 info it refers to the 62 share sale not the 536, and pulls up all the previously entered info  for the first sale and enters a cost basis of $0 which is wrong.

[flatwallet]

Exact same bug noticed here with the cost basis of multiple ESPP entries being calculated as $0 after the first entry.  Please do not write this off as user error; this is a real bug that needs to be fixed and has real negative monetary implications.

[edenddc12]

Same bug, same frustration.

"Get your maximum refund" - what a practical joke! 

Good thing I caught it or the only maximum refund would be for the IRS.

It's about time for Intuit to re-write this crappy ESPP/RSU/SOP wizard which asks way more questions than is needed, and repeats the same input fields in so many byzantine ways. With more than 10 million US employees receiving various types of stock incentives, you shouldn't be a CPA to be able to navigate of this ridiculous wizard.

[luckydogx]

I have the same bug.  TT please fix this.  I also do not get any question to adjust the basis for any W2 income.  This must happen as well.

Terrapin said:   "entering a single ESPP sale will work" 

NO, this is not correct for me ... I have a single ESPP entry and it has the bug as well.  (with multiple other sales).

I tried deleting and then reenter.  It picks up the old values and fails with the $0 BUG.

[MVilleGuy9]

I have the same bug.  As an IT guy, that's pretty bad.  I have multiple ESPP sales and it picks up all the info from the first one, just like everyone is saying. Someone forgot to update a pointer in the code.

[Miked8290]

I sold multiple purchase lots from my ESPP.  I entered the ESPP info and Turbotax calculated everything correctly for the first purchase lot.  When I tried entering subsequent purchase lots, there are numerous errors (number of shares, cost basis, etc.).   This appears to be a programming error - I successfully used Turbotax in previous years for ESPP sales.  Something is wrong with the Turbotax Premier 2020 version.  It sounds like numerous other people are having similar problems.

[eeggel]

The link to the issue only leads to a page that says Access Restricted.

Is this issue being addressed?  As of Feb 15, 2020 still getting $0 for any ESSP Cost Basis Calculation after the first one.

[eeggel]

Support called me back and the update is that this fix will be some time off...  My case is linked such that I would get an update when fixed.    Although support was great in documenting my issue and communicating back to me - TT as a whole needs to enable transparent communication as to what the issue is and when they can resolve it.  I purchased this package for just these kinds of computations = and now I have to dive into the forms and do it myself If I'm going to file anytime soon.  My ESPP sales is the last bit of info I need to enter to be done.  I  have to now also question TT's computations of my RSU and other transactions ???...    Really I expect some sort of refund.

In any case looks like we are on our own for the foreseeable future. 

[wilfsdad1965]

How can a fix for a basic error in stock processing in the version  that is specifically for stocks be 'some time off'??

I'm a software engineer of 30  years,  this is a simple 'table or array processing not working on selected entry', the same thing is done for each  entry, all you have to do  is make sure the table is processed based on the selection made on the previous screen. It looks like it is always being set to the first table/array entry regardless of your selection.

That really is basic stuff and easy to fix.

[andrecs]

I agree, especially since this section always worked just fine in all the past years. 2019 and earlier was just fine. I don't know why they changed it for 2020? Someone made a huge mistake. 

[flatwallet]

I sincerely hope that the fix is not "some time off."  This is a major functional failure for those who bought Turbotax Premier for stock reporting, with considerable financial implications.  As of right now, the bottom line is that those of us with ESPP cannot file our taxes (unless we don't mind double taxation).

Doesn't the program team have some kind of verification test script that is run with the latest builds before releasing to the public?

[eeggel]

FWIW I anyone else wants to call it in:   [phone number removed]

My case number is [social security number removed] - might help tie it all together.

[eeggel]

LOL - trying again 

FWIW I anyone else wants to call it in:   8 0 0 6 2 4 9 0 6 6 eight zero zero six two four nine zero six six

My case number is  4 7 0 6 6 6 5 7 7  four seven zero six six six five seven seven - might help tie it all together.

[djtthelp]

I spent the entire Presidents Day holiday struggling to get TurboTax Premier 2020 to recognize the correct adjusted cost basis for my ESPP sales. Even after entering the adjusted cost basis in the "I have all my info" dialog, the underlying Form 8949 did not show any adjustment and just used the original 1099-B cost basis to calculate the gain. I also tried the "Walk me through" dialog, and that ends the same way -- no adjusted cost basis in Form 8949. Ironically, in the first case when you enter the adjusted cost basis, it will say, "Good news: we've adjusted your ESPP cost basis for you," but no, they really didn't. And in the second "Walk me through" case, the message will say the cost basis is 0, but really, it'll still be the original 1099-B cost basis. In general, I think it's a good idea to View -> Forms and check the 8949 to see what TurboTax actually did.

I noticed that at the end of the dialog (either case), there will be a window with "Select any less common adjustments that apply," and here you can select the last one "An adjustment is required for a reason not already covered." If you select this, a box will open for you to enter an amount, where you can put in a negative adjustment amount for the income that was included on your W2. After doing this, I saw that Form 8949 showed this adjustment and calculated the gain correctly. The only thing is that the adjustment code (column f) is set to "O" (per IRS instructions: You have an adjustment not explained earlier in this column) instead of "B" (You received a Form 1099-B (or substitute statement) and the basis shown in box 1e is incorrect). On my return last year when TT actually worked, it shows "B" for this column in my ESPP sales with adjusted cost basis.

If Intuit does not fix this soon, I intend to go with this method of entering the adjustment. Does anyone see any problem with this?

[andrecs]

Um, I'm not sure if simply entering the amount that was on your W2 as a negative adjustment is the correct way to do it. What needs to happen is to have a proper cost basis - not "$0" as TT has been giving us, but a positive number. Normally the only gain you have from an ESPP sale is whatever capital gain or loss occured after the shares were in your account (i.e. if you got $15k in ESPP money, and when you sold them they were worth $15,100 then you pay capital gains on that $100 bucks). And that's it. The rest SHOULD be in your W2, but it's not as simple as pulling that number out of your W2. TT is supposed to calculate that based on the numbers on your 1099-B and your form 3922. I'm not a CPA, I can't tell you what the algorithm is for doing that (full disclosure, I have a Master's degree in Finance, I am a corporate finance manager for a very large company that is a household name. But I'm not a CPA! 🙂 )