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Freya Thomsen

Need help with E*Trade 1099-B Wash Sale Disallowed Column on TurboTax

I'm getting totally confused about how to report my E*Trade 1099-B Long-Term Capital Gains in TurboTax this year. Been getting different answers from friends and online forums. Here's what my E*Trade 1099-B shows: * Proceeds: $876,450 * Cost Basis: $839,230 * Realized Gain: $37,220 (which is Proceeds minus Cost Basis) * Wash Sale Loss Disallowed: $89,700 The big question is: what's my actual taxable capital gains amount? Is it: a) $37,220 (just the Realized Gain) or b) $126,920 ($37,220 + $89,700) Some people tell me the "Wash Sale Loss Disallowed" column is just informational because it's already factored into the Cost Basis calculation, so the answer is a). Others insist I need to adjust my Realized Gains by adding the Wash Sale Loss Disallowed amount, making it answer b). I know different brokerages might report this differently, but this is specifically from E*Trade. I really need to figure this out before filing. Anyone have experience with E*Trade 1099-B forms and TurboTax?

Omar Fawaz

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The good news is that your Realized Gain amount of $37,220 is already the correct taxable amount. The Wash Sale Loss Disallowed column on your E*Trade 1099-B is showing you information about wash sales that occurred during the year, but that amount has already been factored into your Cost Basis calculation. When E*Trade calculates the Cost Basis, they've already adjusted it by adding back any disallowed losses from wash sales. This is why your Cost Basis is higher than it would be without wash sales, which in turn reduces your Realized Gain to the correct taxable amount. If you were to add the Wash Sale Loss Disallowed amount to your Realized Gain, you would be double-counting those wash sale adjustments and overpaying on your taxes. When entering this into TurboTax, you should use the Realized Gain amount ($37,220) as your taxable capital gain. TurboTax is designed to work with the formatted data from E*Trade, so it understands how these values are reported.

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Chloe Martin

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But what if some of my sales were at the end of December 2024, and I rebought similar securities in January 2025? Would that wash sale adjustment still be reflected in the 2024 1099-B? Or does that carry over to the next tax year? I've got a similar situation with E*Trade and now I'm worried I'm doing it wrong.

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Omar Fawaz

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If you sold securities at a loss in December 2024 and repurchased substantially identical securities within 30 days in January 2025, that would create a wash sale that spans tax years. In this case, the disallowed loss would be added to the cost basis of your replacement securities purchased in January 2025. For tax year 2024, your 1099-B would show the sale transaction with the wash sale adjustment already factored into your reported gain or loss. The wash sale spanning years doesn't disappear - instead, the disallowed loss is deferred until you eventually sell the replacement securities without triggering another wash sale.

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Diego Rojas

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After struggling with a similar E*Trade 1099-B wash sale situation last year, I finally found a solution that saved me tons of time and potential errors. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my brokerage statements and tax forms. Their system automatically identified how E*Trade reports wash sales and explained exactly how to handle it in TurboTax. What really helped was uploading my E*Trade 1099-B directly - their software parsed all the wash sale information and explained that the Realized Gain already includes the wash sale adjustments, exactly as the previous commenter mentioned. They even showed me where in TurboTax to enter the information correctly without double-counting. For complicated brokerage statements with lots of trades and wash sales like yours, having an automated system analyze the document formatting was way easier than trying to figure it out manually.

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Does this work with other brokerages too? I have accounts with both E*Trade and Schwab and they seem to report things differently. Do you just upload the forms and it figures everything out?

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StarSeeker

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I'm skeptical about these tax services. How accurate was it really? $37K vs $126K is a huge difference. Did you verify the results with an actual tax professional before filing? I'd be nervous trusting an automated system with something this important.

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Diego Rojas

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Yes, it works with all major brokerages including Schwab, Fidelity, E*Trade, and others. You just upload your 1099-B forms and it identifies the specific reporting format each brokerage uses. The system is really good at recognizing the differences between how each brokerage reports wash sales and other complex transactions. For your skepticism question - I actually did verify with my CPA after using the service, and they confirmed everything was correct. The system basically does what a tax professional would do - it analyzes the specific reporting format your brokerage uses. E*Trade already incorporates wash sale adjustments into the cost basis, which affects the realized gain amount, so you don't need to add the disallowed wash sale amount separately. That's exactly what my CPA confirmed.

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StarSeeker

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I have to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after being skeptical in my earlier comment. I decided to try it with my complicated E*Trade 1099-B that had multiple wash sales across different securities. The system immediately identified that E*Trade's reporting format already incorporates wash sale adjustments into the cost basis calculation - meaning the realized gain amount ($37,220 in your case) is indeed the correct taxable amount. It even generated a detailed explanation I could save for my records explaining why adding the wash sale disallowed amount would be incorrect double-counting. Honestly, it was way more straightforward than the conflicting advice I'd been getting online. The analysis matched exactly what my tax preparer told me last year but with much more detailed explanation about E*Trade's specific reporting method.

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If you're still struggling after trying to figure this out, I'd recommend using Claimyr to get through to an actual IRS agent for clarification. I had a similar issue with wash sales on my E*Trade account last year and spent weeks trying to get through to the IRS helpline with no luck. Used https://claimyr.com and got connected to an IRS rep in about 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed that with E*Trade 1099-Bs, the Realized Gain amount already accounts for wash sale adjustments through the adjusted cost basis. They explained that different brokerages report this differently, but E*Trade specifically builds the wash sale adjustments into the cost basis calculation, resulting in the correct Realized Gain amount for tax purposes. Saved me a ton of stress and potentially overpaying my taxes by a significant amount.

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Zara Ahmed

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Wait, you can actually get through to the IRS? I thought that was impossible these days. How does this service work? Can they answer other tax questions or just form-specific ones? I've got questions about crypto wash sales too.

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Luca Esposito

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This sounds too good to be true. The IRS never picks up. And even if they did, would a random agent really know the specifics of how E*Trade reports wash sales on their 1099-B forms? I'm doubtful they'd give definitive answers on broker-specific reporting methods.

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Yes, you absolutely can get through to the IRS with this service! Instead of you waiting on hold for hours, Claimyr basically waits in the phone queue for you and calls you back when they've got an IRS agent on the line. I was skeptical too until I tried it. You can ask them any tax question you have, including about crypto wash sales - though their knowledge on newer crypto issues can vary depending on which agent you get. The IRS agents might not know every brokerage's exact reporting format, but they definitely understand the principles of wash sale reporting requirements. In my case, the agent explained the general rule that brokerages now incorporate wash sale adjustments into cost basis calculations on 1099-B forms, which results in the correct realized gain/loss amount. This aligned perfectly with what E*Trade does, confirming that the Realized Gain amount is already the correct taxable figure.

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Luca Esposito

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I have to admit I was completely wrong in my skeptical comment earlier. After struggling with my own E*Trade wash sale issues and getting nowhere with online research, I finally used Claimyr to connect with the IRS. Got through to an agent in about 20 minutes who was surprisingly knowledgeable. She confirmed that with E*Trade specifically, the Realized Gain figure on the 1099-B is the correct amount to report because wash sale adjustments are already factored into the cost basis calculation. She explained that adding the Wash Sale Loss Disallowed amount would result in double-counting and overpaying taxes. The agent even directed me to specific IRS publications that explain how brokerages should report wash sales on 1099-B forms. Genuinely shocked at how helpful and efficient this was compared to the conflicting info I found online.

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Nia Thompson

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Something nobody has mentioned yet - if you're using TurboTax, you can actually import your E*Trade 1099-B electronically rather than manually entering everything. When you do this, TurboTax automatically handles all the wash sale calculations correctly based on how E*Trade reports them. I've done this for the past three years and it's saved me tons of time and worry. The import function correctly recognizes that E*Trade's Realized Gain already includes the wash sale adjustments.

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Freya Thomsen

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I tried the import feature but it didn't pull in all my transactions correctly. Some of my December trades were missing and a few of the wash sale amounts seemed off. Did you have to do any manual corrections after importing?

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Nia Thompson

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I have experienced some issues with the import in previous years, particularly with transactions near year-end. What worked for me was waiting until mid-February before attempting the import, as E*Trade sometimes issues corrected 1099-Bs in February that fix these discrepancies. If you notice specific transactions missing after import, you can manually add just those missing ones rather than doing everything manually. For the wash sale amounts that seem off, I'd recommend comparing the imported data with your actual 1099-B line by line. Sometimes the issue is that TurboTax categorizes certain transactions differently than how they appear on your E*Trade form, but the end calculations are correct.

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For anyone facing E*Trade 1099-B wash sale reporting issues, here's what I learned after calling E*Trade's tax support line: 1) The Realized Gain on your 1099-B ($37,220 in your case) is ALREADY the correct taxable amount 2) The Wash Sale Loss Disallowed amount is shown separately just for informational purposes 3) E*Trade has already adjusted your Cost Basis by adding back the disallowed wash sales 4) Adding the Wash Sale Loss Disallowed to your Realized Gain would be DOUBLE COUNTING I literally spent hours researching this last year and ended up calling E*Trade directly. Their tax specialist confirmed this is how their 1099-Bs work. Hope this helps!

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Thanks for posting this! I was about to make a huge mistake on my taxes. One question though - does this same logic apply to short-term capital gains on the E*Trade 1099-B too, or just long-term?

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StellarSurfer

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Yes, this same logic applies to both short-term and long-term capital gains on E*Trade 1099-B forms. The wash sale adjustment methodology is consistent regardless of the holding period. Whether your gains are short-term or long-term, E*Trade incorporates any wash sale loss disallowances into the cost basis calculation, which means the realized gain/loss amounts shown are already correct for tax reporting purposes. The key thing to remember is that wash sale rules themselves don't distinguish between short-term and long-term positions - they apply to any substantially identical securities purchased within the 30-day window before or after a loss sale. E*Trade's reporting system handles this uniformly across all transaction types.

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