Anyone else enjoying entering 12/31/23 for all those capital gains in tax software?

Is it just me or is anyone else finding some weird satisfaction in typing 12/31/23 when entering all these capital gains transactions? I've been working through my clients' investment accounts this week (I help with about 20 people's taxes each season), and there's something oddly pleasing about typing 123123 over and over in the date field of my tax software. Maybe it's because it flows so easily across the number pad? Or because it looks like a nice pattern? I know it's probably the dumbest thing to appreciate about this tax season, but after dealing with some really complicated wash sales and crypto transactions, I'm finding joy in the smallest things! My software automatically converts 123123 to 12/31/2023 which saves me a few keystrokes each time. With some clients having 50+ transactions, that adds up! Anyone else notice this or am I just getting way too deep into tax season already? 😅

0 coins

18 comments

Summer Green

•8M

As someone who's been preparing taxes for over 15 years, I definitely get what you're saying about finding joy in the little things! The 12/31/23 date entry is actually a nice little efficiency boost when you're dealing with a high volume of capital gains entries. One tip that might make your life even easier - check if your tax software has a "copy previous entry" function. Most professional software lets you duplicate the last transaction and just change the relevant details. So you can enter 12/31/23 once, then just modify the stock name, shares, and amounts for subsequent entries with the same date. This can cut your entry time almost in half for those clients with dozens of transactions. Also, if you're working with any brokerage statements that provide Excel downloads, you might be able to import the whole batch at once, though you'll want to review everything carefully afterward.

0 coins

Summer Green

•8M

Yes, most consumer tax software has similar functionality, though it might not be as obvious. In TurboTax, after you enter a stock transaction, look for an option that says something like "Enter another similar transaction" or "Add similar." This should bring up a new entry form with some fields already populated based on your previous entry, including the date. If you're using the desktop version, you can also try right-clicking on a transaction in the summary view and look for a duplicate or copy option. The web version typically has this option as a button or link near each transaction.

0 coins

Edward McBride

•8M

I started using https://taxr.ai this tax season after struggling with capital gains entries for years. The 12/31/23 date thing was actually what got me looking for a better solution - I had a client with over 200 transactions, most on 12/31/23, and I knew there had to be a better way than manual entry. Taxr.ai actually scans investment statements and extracts all the transaction data automatically - dates, amounts, everything. What used to take me hours now takes minutes, especially for those end-of-year rebalancing transactions that all have the same date. It even handles wash sales and properly identifies long vs. short term gains based on acquisition dates.

0 coins

Edward McBride

•8M

Yes, it handles crypto transactions really well! It can recognize most major exchanges' statement formats and correctly categorizes different crypto transaction types - trades, mining income, staking rewards, etc. It even handles those weird situations where you trade one crypto for another directly. The accuracy is surprisingly good even with unusual statement formats. It uses some kind of advanced image recognition that doesn't just rely on fixed templates. I was skeptical too because my clients use about 6 different brokerages, but it handled all of them. The one time it did have trouble, I just highlighted the relevant section and it figured it out on the second try.

0 coins

Darcy Moore

•8M

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai for anyone interested. I finally tried it for all my 12/31/23 transactions (had about 45 of them!) and it saved me HOURS. Uploaded my statements from Fidelity and Coinbase, and it extracted everything perfectly - dates, amounts, proceeds, cost basis - the whole thing. Even got all my crypto right which I was not expecting at all. The best part is I didn't have to type "12/31/23" even once! Would have taken me forever to input all those manually with all the other details. Definitely using this from now on for capital gains.

0 coins

Liam Duke

•8M

If you're still manually entering capital gains, you're working way too hard! But my real nightmare isn't entering the transactions - it's when clients call the IRS with questions about their capital gains and get stuck on hold forever. I recommend https://claimyr.com to all my clients now. It's a service that navigates the IRS phone tree for you and calls you back when an actual human agent is on the line. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - totally changed how I deal with the IRS. Had a client with a complex 12/31/23 wash sale situation that triggered an IRS notice. Would have spent hours on hold, but Claimyr got us to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes while we kept working on other things.

0 coins

Liam Duke

•8M

It doesn't cut the line at all. What it does is call the IRS and navigate through all the automated phone menus for you, then wait on hold in your place. When a human agent finally picks up, it calls you and connects you directly to that agent. So you're still "in line" the same as everyone else, but you don't have to listen to hold music for hours. The service is actually really transparent about how it works. It's not about skipping the line - it's about not having to physically wait by your phone for hours. You can keep working, take a shower, whatever, and only pick up when an actual agent is ready to talk.

0 coins

Rita Jacobs

•8M

I need to eat my words on Claimyr. After my skeptical comment I decided to try it myself yesterday for an issue with a client's 12/31/23 capital gains that didn't match their 1099-B. I was expecting to be on hold for 2+ hours based on prior experience. The service called the IRS, went through all the automated stuff, and called me back 47 minutes later with an actual IRS agent on the line. I was honestly shocked. Got the issue resolved in about 15 minutes once I had the agent. No more spending half my day with a phone glued to my ear waiting for the IRS music to stop.

0 coins