What do you do if your 1099-B does not state if cost basis is short or long and does not have info in box 1b

Box 1b is the date you acquired the investment.   This box may be blank if box 5 is checked or if the securities sold were acquired on a variety of dates.   For short sales, the date shown is the date you acquired the security delivered to close the short sale.

Here are examples of how to enter the date you originally bought the item: 

 - 03/22/2021 - The date you bought the item.

 - Inherited - You inherited this item.

 - Various - You bought shares of a security at different times, as you would if you bought more than one block of stock or regularly reinvested dividends in additional shares.

For the sales category, most financial institutions send 1099-B statements in a format with each category of sales appearing in a separate table.   Typically there's a header above each table that lists the category (A, B, C, D, E, F, or X).  Scanning for any of these keywords may help:

 - "Basis reported" or "basis not reported"
 - "Box [ ] checked" (where the box is follow by a letter A-F, or X)
 - "Covered" or "noncovered". "Covered" corresponds with sales with basis reported to the IRS, also known as type A or D sales. "Noncovered" corresponds with sales with basis not reported to the IRS.

Capital Gains and Losses

How do I find a stock's cost basis if I don't know when it was purchased?