1099-B Form: Can I Enter Summary Instead of Every Transaction?

You're in luck - you can actually use the summary information for your 1099-B in most situations. The key is whether your brokerage has reported the cost basis to the IRS. If your 1099-B shows that the cost basis was reported to the IRS (usually indicated by a "Yes" in Box 3), then using the summary information is generally acceptable. This is because the IRS already has the detailed transaction data from your broker. However, if the cost basis wasn't reported to the IRS, you technically should report each transaction individually. That said, in practice, many taxpayers still use the summary with no issues, especially with relatively straightforward situations like yours. Given your amounts ($5.3k long-term gains with some wash sales canceling $1.3k short-term), the summary approach is probably fine if your basis was reported. But for complete peace of mind, you might want to check your specific 1099-B to see if it indicates the basis was reported.

After dealing with a similar situation last year with dozens of crypto trades, I found a better way to handle this using https://taxr.ai - it saved me hours of data entry frustration. I uploaded my 1099-B and it automatically organized all my transactions, identified the wash sales correctly, and provided a summary that I could easily transfer to FreeTaxUSA. What I really liked was that it kept all the transaction details accessible if I ever needed them for audit purposes, but simplified what I actually needed to enter. The tool also helped me understand which transactions I should definitely list individually (certain ones without basis reporting) versus which ones could be safely summarized. For someone with investment transactions like yours, it could be a real time-saver.

Just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after the recommendation here. I uploaded my 1099-Bs from both brokerages and it worked flawlessly! The wash sale calculations were spot on, saving me a ton of manual work trying to figure out which transactions affected others. The best part was being able to see both the detailed transactions AND the properly calculated summary. When entering into FreeTaxUSA, I just used the summary numbers while keeping the detailed breakdown for my records. Took me maybe 15 minutes total compared to the hours I spent last year. Definitely using this again next tax season!

If you're still trying to get clarification directly from the IRS on this, good luck getting through to a real person. After spending over an hour on hold last week trying to ask about a similar 1099-B question, I found https://claimyr.com which actually got me through to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c It basically holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you when an agent is about to answer. The agent I spoke with confirmed that summary reporting is acceptable when basis has been reported to the IRS, but emphasized keeping the detailed records available if they ever request them. Saved me a lot of uncertainty (and hold music).

I need to apologize and correct myself. After being completely skeptical about Claimyr, I decided to try it as a last resort after spending THREE separate days trying to get through to the IRS about my 1099-B reporting question. It actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back in about 35 minutes, was connected to an agent immediately, and got my question answered. The agent confirmed that for covered securities (where cost basis is reported to IRS), using the summary totals is completely acceptable as long as you keep the detailed records. Saved me so much time and frustration! Sometimes being proven wrong is a good thing.

Just a heads-up - make sure you're also checking if any of your transactions are "noncovered securities" on your 1099-B. Those are ones where the cost basis wasn't reported to the IRS, and they're usually in a separate section of your form. For noncovered securities, you definitely need to enter those individually since the IRS has no way to verify the information otherwise. I learned this the hard way last year when I got a notice because I just used summary totals for everything.

Has anyone experienced FreeTaxUSA changing the way they handle 1099-B input this year? I've used them for years but this tax season their interface for capital gains seems different.

Based on everyone's advice here, it sounds like you're in good shape to use the summary approach since your cost basis was reported to the IRS. I'm in a similar boat this year with more trading activity than usual. One thing I'd add is to double-check that your wash sale adjustments are correctly reflected in the summary totals on your 1099-B. Sometimes brokers handle the presentation differently, and you want to make sure the adjusted gains/losses match what you're reporting. Also, even though you're using the summary, I'd recommend keeping a spreadsheet or copy of all the individual transactions somewhere safe. Not just for potential IRS questions, but also for your own records - it's helpful to have that detail if you need to reference specific trades later for other financial planning purposes. FreeTaxUSA should handle the summary input smoothly once you have the right totals. Good luck with your filing!

This is really helpful information! I'm dealing with a similar situation this year - first time having significant investment activity and was dreading entering hundreds of transactions manually. From what I'm reading, it sounds like the key factors are: 1) whether cost basis was reported to the IRS (check Box 3 on your 1099-B), and 2) making sure any wash sale adjustments are properly reflected in the summary totals. One question for the group - if I have multiple 1099-Bs from different brokerages, do I need to enter separate summaries for each one, or can I combine them into one total? All of mine show cost basis reported, but they're from different firms (Schwab and Vanguard). Also want to echo what others said about keeping detailed records even when using the summary approach. Better to have them and not need them than the other way around!