Do I have to buy premier TurboTax to file stocks from Robinhood?

[Anonymous]

I lost money from Robinhood but I order to file my taxes I’m required to pay 75$ for a premier version of TurboTax. Would I be wrong to offset this and continue filing free? I only lost $1. Literally lol. But it’s going to cost me more just file for something I hardly partook in.

[WaterIsland]

Disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer, tax accountant, etc.


But considering you lost money, you shouldn’t owe taxes on that amount. For a $1 loss, you might get a few cents or so back, tho that is unlikely unless you had capital gains this year. So I say ignore it, not worth your time.

[SaoirseS]

Did you get a 1099-B from Robinhood for TY 2022?

[Asker]

Yes I did

[SaoirseS]

To answer your question, if you're using TurboTax's online version, then yes you'll need to buy TurboTax Premier. All desktop (CD/Download versions) of TurboTax will handle barter transactions and generate Schedule D, so it may be cheaper for you to go with the Basic version (unless your tax filing situation is pretty complicated).
I understand your dilemma here, but yes, IRS requires you to file Schedule D for your stock/equity/mutual fund sales regardless of the amount (unless there are zeros in all fields of the 1099-B). The issue is not the amount of loss, it is the value of the overall transaction as that is what is reported to IRS, so if you receive a 1099-B with reportable information IRS expects a Schedule D to go with your 1040. Early in the tax season IRS receives only the amount of net proceeds and whether it is a short or long term covered loss or gain reported against filers' social security numbers, thus what might happen (and sometimes does) is IRS will figure the taxable amount based on the net proceeds with a zero cost basis, which has tax consequences. You'll be able to eventually resolve this; however, it will take correspondence, a possible audit, and time out of your life that you'll never get back.

[SaoirseS]

Believe me, I get it. I'm a small business owner/operator with a business (primarily accounting) education. The materiality principle in accounting is at work here, so from a business accounting perspective expending time and resources in order to account for a phantom dollar than I can write off with a single entry is just plain dumb. But we're talking about government here, which will spend thousands to obtain 10 bucks in revenue and spend manhours to resolve simple problems.
You can, of course, roll the dice and complete your 1040 online for free excluding the 1099-B. It's up to you. My recommendation, though, is to submit the schedule D so that your tax filing squares with records IRS has available. It'll save you time and headache, and keep you off the radar.

[jamesgoldman]

I don't know because my accountant handles my tax returns