Securities Traders Need Tax Relief on IRS Cost-Basis Reporting Rules

1,824 Letters and Emails Sent So Far

Securities Traders Need Tax Relief on IRS Cost-Basis Reporting Rules

New “cost-basis reporting” rules for 2011 are not functioning properly. Botched implementation is unfairly causing millions of taxpayers to significantly overpay their tax bills. The IRS should have issued the same set of rules for brokers and taxpayers, but did not. How can the IRS now send tax notices and audits to hundreds of thousands of taxpayers over 1099-Bs prepared under one set of rules, while holding taxpayers accountable to another set of rules? Taxpayers did not sign up to be deputy accountants for this mess!

Kindly sign in below to read our full petition. Please sign and send it to your Congressmen very soon. See some of the excellent public comments below from other signers and please add your comments, too. 

For more background information on this problem, see our cost-basis reporting page at http://www.greencompany.com/EducationCenter/Trader-Tax-Center/Cost-Basis-Reporting.shtml. Thank you for your help. 

Robert A. Green, CPA, CEO GreenTraderTax.com & Managing Member Green NFH, LLC
TradersAdvocacy.Org. Please send comments to info@greencompany.com

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People signing this petition:     Browse all signers
May 13, 2013    link
Someone from Stuart, FL writes:
I have spent a little over a year, likely 100 hours or more, numerous certified letters, etc to resolve a 107K difference in calculations and 8K in fines. In the end.... still pending yet another "we'll get back to you in 60 days from the IRS" I will owe approx. 3K in taxes (from 107K) and God knows what in fines. Simply a disgrace.
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April 13, 2013    link
Paz E. from Jacksonville, FL writes:
The fact that so many taxpayers are confused and failing is strong evidence that the system is broken. Please fix this issue by simplifying our tax code.
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March 23, 2013    link
James Nelson N. from Palmdale, CA writes:
This needs to be fixed. A tax payer should not have to spend 100s of hours figuring out how much to pay.
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March 15, 2013    link
Scott S. from West Linn, OR writes:
I'm been doing more day trading lately, but do not qualify as a "trader" since I have a full-time job. I didn't realize what a nightmare these new accounting requirements are having on me. It requires special software and a CPA. This isn't right or fair for the average tax payer. Please help!
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March 13, 2013    link
David L. from San Antonio, TX signed.
March 5, 2013    link
cuong n. from Arvada, CO signed.
March 3, 2013    link
Robert M. from Pinole, CA signed.
February 15, 2013    link
DAVID R. from Fortescue, NJ signed.
January 14, 2013    link
Someone from Brooklyn, NY signed.
December 6, 2012    link
Someone from New Freedom, PA writes:
I think it is incumbent upon Congress and the IRS to require the same set of rules for brokers reporting of 1099-Bs and taxpayers Form 8949. Regulations that do not require reporting under the same set of rules is unfair to the taxpayer.
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December 5, 2012    link
Someone from Milwaukee, WI writes:
typical bull$heet
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November 29, 2012    link
Someone from Naples, FL writes:
There are plenty of easy to follow guidelines which could be implemented. Why not chose one?
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October 18, 2012    link
Steven B. from Cameron, MO signed.
October 18, 2012    link
Someone from Mount Kisco, NY signed.
October 16, 2012    link
Someone from Las Vegas, NV writes:
A massive, unfair, mess. Needs competent legal re-design so if broker info is used to check taxpayer info, then brokers and taxpayers are using exactly the same rules to the lowest level of detail. If this can not be done, then cost basis checking should be abandoned as damned if you do and damned if you don't taxpayer harassment.. That is comply with the tax law or comply with the 1099 and 8949 figures which brokers can't or won't change.
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October 13, 2012    link
Someone from Louisville, KY signed.
October 13, 2012    link
Someone from Scarsdale, NY writes:
This is an nuts. The government calls for transparency yet they themselves are very opaque and burden taxpayers vs fixing the issue. Hitting taxpayers is an easy target, by intimidation. How about playing by the same rules that they impose? These issues have accumilated over time and the reason why the tax code is just that - messy undecipherable code.
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October 11, 2012    link
Jeff M. from Newport Beach, CA signed.
October 9, 2012    link
R G. from Austin, TX writes:
Cost-basis reporting is insane and a big mess not too mention a bad joke from IRS.
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September 19, 2012    link
Paul D. from Bellevue, WA writes:
It is unfair that broker rules for reporting trades on the newly revised IRS Form 1099-B do not match rules that taxpayers are supposed to follow, resulting in hundreds of discrepancies in cost basis reporting that are nearly impossible to reconcile. And that is assuming that brokerages are preparing their 1099-B's correctly, which if far from the truth. It is September 19th, and I still do not have a correct version of my 73-page long 1099-B from my main trading brokerage. The final deadline for filing taxes is looming on October 15th -- it's impossible for me to file anything at this point that won't be riddled with discrepancies between my (I believe correct) tax return and the incorrect data supplied to the IRS by many brokerages!
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