How to Enter Form 1099-B in TaxAct: Methods, Adjustments, and Review

To enter Form 1099-B in TaxAct, you have three options: import directly from a supported brokerage, upload a CSV file of your transactions, or type them in manually. Pick based on how many sales you have and whether your broker is on TaxAct’s import list. Whichever route you take, the fields that matter most are sales proceeds (Box 1d), cost basis (Box 1e), wash sale adjustment (Box 1g), and holding period (Box 2), and the accuracy of what you enter matters because the IRS gets its own copy of every 1099-B and runs an automated match against your return.¹

Which Entry Method to Use

TaxAct supports up to 2,000 individual Form 1099-B transactions per return. Below that ceiling, the method depends on your broker and your tolerance for typing.²

Direct Import From Your Broker

This is the fastest option. TaxAct connects to your brokerage account and pulls the 1099-B data straight into the correct fields. Supported brokerages include Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, Raymond James, UBS, Betterment, and several dozen others.³ Import does not mean done. Every transaction still needs a look, especially any non-covered security, where the broker may have left basis blank or dropped in an estimate.

CSV Upload

If your broker isn’t on the import list but lets you download your transaction data, build a spreadsheet with these columns and upload it: Description, Date Sold, Sales Proceeds, Date Acquired, and Cost or Other Basis.⁴ This is the practical middle ground for dozens or hundreds of sales.

Manual Entry

For a handful of transactions, typing them in is fine. Manual entry is also required for anything TaxAct can’t import, including Section 1256 contracts.

Summary Totals

If you exceed 2,000 transactions, or you just don’t want to enter each one, you can report summary totals by Form 8949 category. You enter one line of totaled proceeds and totaled basis for each category, and you attach a PDF of your detailed broker statement to your e-filed return. TaxAct prompts for the attachment during e-filing. If the PDF won’t attach, mail Form 8453 with the statement. TaxAct allows up to six Form 8949 attachments per return.²

Where to Click in TaxAct

In TaxAct Online (Classic view), go to Federal, open the Investment Income dropdown, and choose Gain or loss on the sale of investments. In the Dashboard view, click Income, then the Investments & Savings dropdown. The software asks whether you want to import or enter manually. If you import, pick your broker from the list, log in with your brokerage credentials, and TaxAct maps the transactions to the correct Form 8949 categories.

Choosing manual entry sends you into the “Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds, etc.” interview, one transaction at a time. The fields:

Description: the security name or ticker.
Date acquired and date sold: from the 1099-B. Enter “Various” if you bought the shares on different dates.
Sales proceeds (Box 1d).
Cost or other basis (Box 1e). For non-covered securities this may be blank on your 1099-B, and you fill it in from your own records.
Holding period: short-term (one year or less) or long-term (more than one year), from Box 2.⁵

Covered transactions with no adjustments are simple: the 1099-B gives you everything you need. The rest of this guide is about the sales that aren’t that simple.

Covered vs. Non-Covered, and Why Box 5 Matters

Every line on your 1099-B is either covered or non-covered. Covered means your broker was required to track basis and report it to the IRS. Generally, stocks bought after 2010 and mutual fund shares bought after 2011 are covered.⁶ Check Box 5. If it’s checked, the security is non-covered and the IRS did not receive a basis figure from the broker.⁷

For non-covered lots, you determine and enter the correct basis yourself, using old trade confirmations, account statements, or brokerage records. If you leave basis at zero, the IRS treats the entire sales proceeds as gain.

Your Consolidated 1099 groups transactions into the six Form 8949 reporting categories, which is what feeds into your return:⁸

Box A (short-term) and Box D (long-term): basis reported to the IRS.
Box B (short-term) and Box E (long-term): basis not reported to the IRS.
Box C (short-term) and Box F (long-term): no 1099-B received.

Adjustments That Catch People Out

Wash Sales

If you sold a security at a loss and bought back the same or substantially identical security within 30 days before or 30 days after the sale, the loss is disallowed.⁹ Your broker flags this in Box 1g. TaxAct has a dedicated wash sale field on the transaction entry screen, and the Box 1g amount goes there. The disallowed loss adds to the basis of the replacement shares, so it’s deferred rather than lost. If you’re using summary totals, fold the wash sale adjustment into your entered figures.

RSU and ESPP Basis Corrections

This is where employees with stock compensation get double-taxed if they aren’t careful. When you sell shares from restricted stock units or an employee stock purchase plan, the compensation element already taxed on your W-2 is often missing from the basis your broker reports on the 1099-B. Enter the 1099-B as-is and you’ll pay tax twice on the same income.¹⁰

In TaxAct, raise the cost basis to include the compensation income already on your W-2 and apply adjustment code B, which signals to the IRS that the 1099-B basis was wrong. Your employer’s stock plan statement or supplemental tax document shows the correct adjusted basis.

Inherited Shares

Inherited securities generally get a stepped-up basis equal to fair market value on the decedent’s date of death.¹¹ Your broker usually doesn’t know the correct figure, so Box 1e may be blank or wrong. During the interview, mark the transaction type as “Inherited.” TaxAct then treats the gain or loss as long-term regardless of your actual holding period and lets you enter the stepped-up basis.

Worthless Securities

If a stock became completely worthless during the year, the IRS treats it as sold on December 31 for zero.¹² You won’t get a 1099-B, so enter the transaction manually: December 31 sale date, zero proceeds, your original purchase price as basis. Short-term or long-term follows your holding period.

Bond Premium

If you bought a bond above face value and amortized the premium, the basis you enter should be the adjusted (reduced) basis after amortization, not what you originally paid.¹³

Section 1256 Contracts

Regulated futures, broad-based index options, and certain foreign currency contracts go on Form 6781, not Form 8949, and follow the 60/40 rule regardless of holding period. TaxAct can’t import these. Enter them manually under “Futures or foreign currency contract reporting (Form 6781)” in the Investment Income section.¹⁴

Digital Assets Go Elsewhere

Starting with tax year 2025, crypto brokers issue Form 1099-DA for digital asset sales, exchanges, and dispositions. Basis often isn’t reported yet, so you’ll supply it. In TaxAct’s Classic view, use the Investment Income section and select “Digital asset gain or loss (Form 1099-DA).” In Dashboard view, go to Income, then Investments & Savings, then Cryptocurrency, NFTs & Other Digital Assets.¹⁵ Digital assets use their own Form 8949 boxes (G, H, I for short-term; J, K, L for long-term), separate from A through F.⁸ Reported-basis digital asset transactions with no adjustments can go directly on Schedule D lines 1a or 8a without a Form 8949 entry.

Review Before You File

Once every transaction is in, TaxAct populates Form 8949 and rolls the totals into Schedule D.¹⁶ Open the completed forms in the Review or Forms view and check three things:

Category totals. Compare aggregate proceeds and basis on Form 8949 to the summary page of your Consolidated 1099 for each reporting category.
Adjustment codes. Wash sale (W), basis correction (B), or other adjustments should show the correct code and amount in the adjustment column.
Schedule D totals. Part I is net short-term, Part II is net long-term, Part III combines them. If the bottom line surprises you, find the transaction that’s off before filing.

Non-covered lines deserve extra attention. A blank or zero basis on a non-covered sale makes the IRS treat the whole proceeds figure as gain.

If Your Return Doesn’t Match the 1099-B

The IRS runs an automated match between broker-filed 1099-Bs and what you report. A missing transaction, a proceeds figure that doesn’t line up, or an unexplained basis difference triggers a CP2000 notice proposing additional tax plus interest from the original due date.¹⁷

You have 30 days to respond (60 days if you’re outside the United States). Agree and pay, or disagree and send documentation showing the correct figures. Ignoring the notice leads to a Statutory Notice of Deficiency, which is a formal step toward assessment.¹⁷

The best defense is to make sure every transaction on your 1099-B lands somewhere on your return. Reporting a sale with a corrected basis doesn’t trip the automated flag. Leaving the sale off does.

1
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-B, Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions
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TaxAct. Form 1099-B – Separate Line Reporting Exceptions
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TaxAct. Form 1099-B – Import Individual Stock Transactions from Brokerage or Financial Institution
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TaxAct. Form 1099-B – Create Your Own Spreadsheet (CSV File)
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Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409, Capital Gains and Losses
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Internal Revenue Service. Stocks, Options, Splits, and Traders FAQ
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-B (2026)
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8949
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1091 – Loss From Wash Sales of Stock or Securities
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TaxAct. If Income from ESPP/ISO Shares Sold Appears on W-2, Do I Need to Adjust Basis from Form 1099-B?
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent
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TaxAct. Capital Gains and Losses – Worthless Securities
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eCFR. 26 CFR 1.171-2 – Amortization of Bond Premium
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TaxAct. Form 6781 – Section 1256 Contracts and Straddles – Futures Contracts
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TaxAct. Form 1099-DA – Entering Transactions
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets
17
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 652, Notice of Underreported Income – CP2000