Barry Margolin <barmar[at]alum.mit.edu> wrote:
- quote -

For short sales it is the sales date, which is the opening
transaction date.

__
Art Kamlet ArtKamlet [at] AOL.com Columbus OH K2PZH

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"Whit Matteson" <whit_mattesonAT[at]attDOT.net> wrote:

- quote -

I'm not a pro, but my understanding is that "Various" is
only allowed for the purchase date, not the sales date. The
IRS gets copies of the 1099-B when you sell, and presumably
wants to be able to match these up against the dates on
Schedule D. Since they don't get notified at purchase time,
they don't care about this because they have nothing to
compare it to.

--
Barry Margolin, barmar[at]alum.mit.edu
Level(3) Communications, Woburn, MA

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Whit Matteson <whit_mattesonAT[at]attDOT.net> wrote:

- quote -

I don't do this so I can't say.

I have used broker-supplied or client-supplied spreadsheets
which have the same Look & Feel of a schedule D/D-1 and
attach them to the return (and do not efile.)

But each closing transaction is shown.

- quote -

Various should be used only for the opening transaction date.

__
Art Kamlet ArtKamlet [at] AOL.com Columbus OH K2PZH

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When a preparer charges by the line for filling out Schedule
D, the client may ask if he can't just bundle a bunch of
transactions into one, use a generic description like
"Stocks:, "Various" for the dates, and use totals for sales
price and basis. Assuming this is done correctly,
separating short-term and long-term gains, and so on, the
amount of tax due will be correctly computed. Preparers who
do this say they have never had it challenged.

I don't think this is what the IRS intended, but I can't
find a clear, specific prohibition against doing it. On the
other hand, there is not even a hint in anything I could
find that suggests it's permissible. One could argue that
the format of Schedule D is only designed this way to make
it more convenient for the preparer to compute the correct
amounts.

Can anyone point to language other than the Schedule D
instructions "Enter all sales and exchanges of capital
assets, including stocks, bonds, etc., and real estate..."
that I could point to as requiring listing one sale per
line? I can infer it from the fact that Schedule D-1
exists, or from the fact that "Various" is only mentioned as
being valid in column d, but I was hoping for something more
concrete.

Thanks,
Whit Matteson

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