Need help: what should be the cost basis for company granted RSUs? My 1099-B shows $0 cost basis!

I just got my 1099-B and I'm completely confused about how to handle my RSUs for taxes. My company granted me some RSU shares last year and I'm trying to figure out the correct cost basis to report. The 1099-B I received shows a cost basis of $0 for these shares, which seems wrong, but I don't know what the right number should be. If my company granted me 15 RSU shares when the market price was $6.75 per share (I didn't pay anything for them), would my cost basis be $101.25 (15×$6.75) or would it actually be $0 since that's what I technically paid? This is my first time dealing with RSUs on my taxes and I'm worried about reporting this incorrectly. Any help would be super appreciated!

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18 comments

Dylan Cooper

•8M

The confusion with RSUs is totally understandable! Here's what's happening: when your company grants you RSUs, you're actually taxed on the full value of those shares at vesting (not granting) as ordinary income. That amount gets reported on your W-2 already. Your cost basis for those RSU shares should be the fair market value on the vesting date (not the grant date), which is exactly the same amount that was included in your W-2 income. The problem is that brokerages often report a $0 cost basis on the 1099-B for RSUs because they don't have the information about what was already reported on your W-2. So if you had 15 shares vest at $6.75 per share, your actual cost basis is indeed $101.25, not $0. When you file your taxes, you'll need to adjust the cost basis on Schedule D and Form 8949 to reflect this amount, or you'll end up paying tax twice on the same income!

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Dylan Cooper

•8M

Yes, you'll need to override what the 1099-B shows. Most tax software including TurboTax will allow you to adjust the cost basis. When you enter the 1099-B information, look for an option to "adjust basis" or "enter missing basis." You'll also need to check a box on Form 8949 indicating that you're reporting a basis different from what was reported to the IRS. For the special codes on Form 8949, you'll use code "B" which indicates that the basis reported to the IRS is incorrect. The software should guide you through this, but double-check that the adjustment is properly reflected in your final return.

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Dmitry Smirnov

•8M

After struggling with this exact RSU cost basis issue last year, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it completely transformed how I handle my equity compensation. I uploaded my 1099-B and W-2, and it automatically identified all my RSU transactions where the basis was reported as $0. The tool explained that my company had already reported the RSU value as income on my W-2 (box 1) when the shares vested, and showed me exactly how to adjust the cost basis on my tax forms to avoid double taxation. It even helped me identify which specific shares on my 1099-B matched with my vesting events.

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Dmitry Smirnov

•8M

Yes, it handles ESPPs as well! It can identify qualifying vs. disqualifying dispositions and explains the difference between the discount income and any additional capital gains or losses. The tool breaks down each ESPP purchase by lot so you can see the purchase date, fair market value, and discount clearly for each transaction. For partial sales, the tool is actually really good at matching specific lots to your sales. It examines the dates and share quantities to connect which vested shares you're selling, even if you've made multiple sales from different vesting events. It shows you exactly which portion of your W-2 income corresponds to the specific shares you sold, so you can properly adjust the basis just for those shares.

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Ava Johnson

•8M

I just had to come back and say THANK YOU for recommending taxr.ai! I was skeptical at first but decided to try it after struggling with my RSU sales for hours. The tool immediately identified that my 1099-B was reporting $0 basis for all my RSU sales, but my company had already included the $4,350 as income on my W-2. It walked me through exactly how to report this correctly and even gave me the specific adjustment codes to use on Form 8949. I would have definitely paid tax twice on this money if I hadn't fixed it! The explanation about vesting dates vs. sales dates finally made everything click for me.

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Miguel Diaz

•8M

If you're trying to get clarification directly from the IRS about your RSU cost basis situation, good luck getting through! I spent 3 days trying to reach someone at the IRS about a similar issue and kept getting disconnected after waiting for hours. Then I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and watched their demo (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). It's a service that gets you through to an actual IRS agent without the endless waiting. I was seriously skeptical but decided to try it after my 5th failed attempt to reach someone. Within 30 minutes, I was talking to a real IRS agent who confirmed exactly how to handle my RSU reporting and explained the correct tax treatment. Saved me days of frustration and potentially an incorrect tax filing.

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Miguel Diaz

•8M

It doesn't jump you ahead in the queue, but it uses an automated system that continually calls the IRS and navigates through all the initial prompts for you. Once it gets in line, it holds your place and calls you when it reaches a human agent. So instead of you spending hours with your phone on speaker waiting, their system does the waiting for you. Their tech basically keeps redialing when disconnected and navigates through all those annoying menu options automatically. You just get notified when an actual agent is on the line. I was totally skeptical too, but after multiple days of failing to get through myself, I was desperate. I was surprised when they actually got me connected to a real person who helped with my RSU question.

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Connor Byrne

•8M

I have to eat my words. After seeing Claimyr mentioned here, I decided to try it for my complicated RSU reporting situation. After failing to get through to the IRS for weeks, their service got me connected to an agent in about 45 minutes. The agent walked me through exactly how to report my RSUs with the $0 basis issue, explained which codes to use on Form 8949, and even helped me understand how to document everything in case of questions later. Honestly wish I'd known about this service years ago - would have saved me so much stress and probably prevented some mistakes on past returns.

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Yara Abboud

•8M

E*TRADE should have something similar, but it might be called something different like "Cost Basis Statement" or "Equity Awards Tax Information." Try looking in the Tax Documents section specifically. If you can't find it there, you might need to contact your company's stock admin team rather than E*TRADE directly. Sometimes the employer has to authorize the broker to provide that supplemental information. For anyone who can't find this document, an alternative is to look at your last December paystub or your W-2, find the total RSU income reported there, and match it to your vesting statements to calculate the proper basis yourself.

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