TurboTax

File with experts
File your taxes
Experts at your fingertips

An expert helps with your taxes, or does them for you
TurboTax Expert Full Service

TurboTax Expert Assist

TurboTax Self-Employed
Prior year taxes
File myself
File myself
Do it yourself

We'll guide you step-by-step
TurboTax Do It Yourself

TurboTax Self-Employed

TurboTax Desktop
TurboTax Free

Activate your product

Prior year taxes
Business
Business
Business taxes

Get your T2 corporate return done right, your way
TurboTax Business

TurboTax Business Desktop
Tax situations
Tax situations
Tax situations

Find extra guidance for your big life moves
For investors

For 25 and younger

For self-employed

For new to Canada

For life changes
Resources
Resources
Resources

Explore tax tools, get tips, and read reviews
Personal income tax calculator

RRSP savings calculator

Learning hub

TurboTax support (FAQ)

TurboTax community
Pricing

Community

Question

TurboTax Early Rounding Issues creating LARGE variances between TurboTax Produced Return and Brokerage 1099-B Data

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
February 18, 2021
40 replies
0 views

Edited to be as clear as possible.

"In my 2019 TurboTax Produced Tax Return, Column H on Form 8949 was NOT ROUNDED. In my 2020 TurboTax Produced Tax Return (this year), Column H is Rounded.

The IRS guidance did not change between the two years so please fix it. Rounding every individual transaction on FORM 8949 produces large variances with what the broker sends the IRS on 1099-B for people with hundreds of transactions. Software should not be rounding this number."

*Edited to add the issue is worse than I thought....TurboTax appears to be rounding All dollar amounts on Form 8949 in the final version of returns. Every column that features dollar amounts is being rounded on Form 8949 and that is definitely not REQUIRED by the IRS. We are not using pen and paper so please be precise.

TurboTax software for this year has a serious issue that is upsetting customers. TurboTax is forcing rounding at the individual transaction level for items like stock sales. This creates an enormous problem for people with hundreds of transactions. The early rounding results in a large variance between the Broker to IRS 1099-B statements and what a TurboTax produced return details. Some suggest "the IRS allows it." First off, the IRS definitely does not REQUIRE it. Just because the IRS allows it does not mean it should be forced upon TurboTax customers. I am sure the IRS intention for allowing rounding (again, not requiring) is to help people who use pen and paper and don't pay for expensive software. We that pay for expensive TurboTax software expect precise data. When the early rounding creates a variance, it is possible that other issues with the data are being hidden. It is why anyone who has ever done reconciliation on financial data knows that you tie out to the penny (and then at that point you can round). It is the only way to know 100% that you have accounted for all the data. Come on TurboTax, you should know better. As a decade long customer, I genuinely believed your product got better every year....but this year, it has taken a giant step back. Please Fix It.

TurboTax Premier Online

Show previous replies

Tyson FC

This is preventing me from completing the e-file as well because it marks each transaction as an Error and it won't allow me to enter the exact number to finish. Please update this as soon as possible.

Thanks

PlotinusRedux

In my case, TT's rounding ends up showing a gain of around $200 less than my 1099-B. Even if the IRS is fine with that, it's just luck it was $200 less rather than $200 more.

Completely unacceptable, and makes the software I paid for (desktop edition) useless, as I will not submit a gain to the IRS different from my 1099-B.

TommyB2

Originally, Turbotax told me I could not efile because of a Turbotax forms issue (which they would not let me correct). It was a basic error where Turbotax rounded a number to zero, when the line should have been left blank without the zero). Therefore I filed Fed and State Returns by mail. Then Turbotax updated their software, corrected their mistake, and I was allowed to efile, which I did. The State of Massachusetts received the paper file first so they rejected my efiled return. Very expensive software to allow errors such as this to occur. I am waiting for the State of Massachusetts to decided if I have done something wrong.

dm47208tt

Agree with many here and hope TT prioritizes and listens to the Voice of the Customer. Consistency -- both in year-over-year methods *and* form-data reconciliation, is valuable and desirable. Here, apparently deliberate decisions have introduced inconsistency and with it, significant customer consternation and uncertainty. That the IRS technically allows it is no solace for many.

Fixes being considered is great, but greater visibility is needed. Every day we delay filing is another day identity thieves have to turn our lives upside down. As a reminder to both TT and its customers, the Maximum Refund Guarantee states:

"...if you get a bigger tax refund (or owe less taxes) through another tax preparation method, we'll refund the purchase price you paid for TurboTax."

As it stands now, a statistically significant percentage of TT Premier and higher customers fits into that category with the introduction of this line item rounding. That should factor into the developers' priority list.

nbedh

I have used TT for over years and have reconciled 1099-B imports to the penny. Not this year. Gross Proceeds are reported $90 less and Gains are reported $220 more. I'm not happy about this as there does not seem to be an easy way to fix this manually other than typing over 3000 transactions one at a time.

Please fix ASAP.

Anonymous

Wow, this is driving me crazy. Guess it's good to know it's not just me. Example of the error:

Cost basis: 499.47. TT rounds this down to 499

Proceeds: 605.52. TT rounds this up to 606

Gain is 107 to TT

But! The gain is really only 106.05 in the 1099-B, which rounds down to 106

This is a difference of $1 just in this one transaction. Multiply by dozens/hundreds of transactions, and the error really starts accumulating.

I really hope they fix this!

jeffecohen

Employee

I've got about 300 transactions spread over 4 accounts. The net difference is about $7 in my favor, so I'm not affected much, but I haven't filed yet and don't know if it's gonna be a problem. I hope not bc I have a refund coming and don't want to wait. In addition, the way transactions appear in the forms list is crazy with every transaction listed separately as opposed to only the Schedule Ds and 8949s in prior years. I can't figure out a reason for these changes. They appear to be solutions in search of problems. TT - please revert.

jellismith25

I know this is off subject i got a quick question i filed 1/30 they accpeted state on 2/15 and federal on 2/11 and i got my state on 1/26 but nothing for federal yet no date anything still saying return received i do have 1 dep claimed eitc and ctc also will it deposit this week ?

mjrengaw

@jellismith25

You will get better results by opening your own thread on this topic or finding a thread that is a close match. Trying to keep this thread OT. Thanks.

MIDLF47

Updated turbo tax today 3-1-21. Problems with wash sales causing errors appear to be resolved. Tax returns showed no errors and E-filed OK.

DJG

Employee

I could not agree more! This was a terrible change for this year's version. Seems like TurboTax is rounding the cost basis and rounding the proceeds at the transaction level before subtracting them for a transaction-level net proceed amount, then rounding THAT amount before summing up all the transactions?! That is crazy, particularly because I've sold hundreds of tax lots including partial shares from dividend reinvestment. There is absolutely no common sense reason to do all this rounding! Now nothing ties to my 1099. At a minimum, TT should give users the ability to opt out of all the transaction-level rounding.

thomaswhitmire

This is unacceptable. Computers are meant for precision, not approximation. My line-item entries (82 transactions) is $4 different from the 1099-B.

Intuit, please respond with an update, and fix the issue.

Otherwise you stand to lose a lot of money next year from irate customers. And the IRS may wonder why YOUR mistake caused $$$$$ worth of discrepancies.

bredman

As of 3/2/2021 in TurboTax Premier I see the correct amounts to the cents in the lowest level detail entries compared with those in the corresponding written Form 8949. However, I have seen several rounding errors (rounding down when it should be rounded up and vice versa) in the next level up. This has caused nearly a $5 discrepancy in the summary values reported in TurboTax versus the summary values reported on the written 1099-B.

mjrengaw

@bredman

Nothing has changed. It's always been that way. If you look at the data interactively using the app the cents are there. But when the program does the calculation it rounds the proceeds and cost basis first before doing the calculation. That is, and always has been, the problem. Switch to forms view and look at form 8949 and you will be able to the rounded numbers it is using for proceeds and cost basis.

DJG

Employee

No @mjrengaw, that is incorrect. It has most definitely not always been that way. I'm looking at my Form 8949 from last year right now and TurboTax did not round anything at the transaction level--not the proceeds, nor the cost basis, nor the gain/loss. But for 2020, TT is rounding all of them.... which cumulatively over hundreds of tax lots leads to a $70 discrepancy vs. what my 1099-B shows. Which is preposterous. What's the point of buying expensive tax software if it can't get this right?