Program to calculate stock transactions

[Questionguy101]

Does anyone has recommendation for a computer program that can calculate stock transactions and generate a Schedule D?

[Jiggers]

CFS TaxTools has a Schedule D Module.

[Koss]

Schedule D

I don't have many clients that have large numbers of stock sales. So this isn't an issue I deal with in my own practice.

But I find it very interesting, for a couple reasons. There seems to be a growing demand for this sort of application, among both professionals and consumers/taxpayers. Most online brokers offer the ability to download something. The something is usually a bare-bones .csv file, which can be opened and read with MS Excel. But most people don't know what the heck to do with this file.

The other reason I find it interesting is because it raises the issue of formatting standards, i.e., for those who are old enough to remember, the classic metaphor is Sony vs. Betamax, or, in more modern terms, do you want your music as an MP3 or an iTunes file?

The gold standard, or granddaddy of all the applications that offer to reformat the data and generate a Schedule D, is Gainskeeper, I've never used it. Some brokers offer it at no cost, built into their online platform, if the accountholder has a premium-level account. Other brokers charge for it. The program can be purchased as a stand-alone product, for professionals or for individual investors. Be forewarned: It's kinda pricey. The billing model is a complex amalgam of per-client and per-transaction.

At the other end of the spectrum...

I got a spam e-mail about a month ago from a site called http://www.scheduled-1.com

It sounds incredibly cheesy, but the site actually works. I tried it just for fun, and they deliver what they promise. It's not a downloadable application. It's an online file conversion service. So you would have to be comfortable uploading your client's raw data. You do not have to upload any identifying information. Except a credit card or a PayPal account. Their fee to convert an Excel file into a Schedule D is five dollars.

What they deliver is pretty cool. They provide a PDF and two different versions of a format called .txf--one for HRB at Home, and one for TurboTax.

If you are using an Intuit product, you could probably use the .txf file that is meant for TurboTax.

I don't use Intuit, or ATX, or Drake, or anything else that anyone on this board ever talks about...

I use the "T-Mobile" of professional tax prep software

I use TaxAct, which was just acquired by HRB.

TaxAct offers the option of importing the data from a plain .csv file, and it works very well if you know how to label the fields, and how to convert an .xls file into a .csv file.

But this is probably waaaay more than you wanted to know.

If you are curious and want to play around with this sort of thing, I've attached a basic .csv file that has the correct fields and headers for a Schedule D. If you fill this thing in for your client, upload it to www.scheduled-1.com, and cough up five bucks, it will work. You'll get a PDF version of Schedule D-1, which can be used as an "attachment," but then you have to file Form 8453. You'll also get the TurboTax version of the .txf file.

With that being said, the template I've attached to this post does not have fields or headers to address kinky transactions, such as wash sales or expired puts and calls. There are some formatting standards for these types of transactions, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet.

Okay, wait a minute here... The message board won't allow me to upload a .csv file as an attachment.

So I'll have to post a link instead:

http://www.sgaweb.net/schd.csv

BMK

[Questionguy101]

CFS TaxTools has a Schedule D Module.

Do you know one that can handle huge amount of trades (and is also capable of handling wash sale, short sale, etc?

I have this client who had over 100,000 trades and his brokerage company cannot provide him with a gain/loss report.

[Koss]

I have this client who had over 100,000 trades and his brokerage company cannot provide him with a gain/loss report.

Wow, that's a lot of trades!

Is your client an individual?

Of course, it doesn't matter...

With that volume of trading, maybe you have some kind of "budget" to work with within your fee structure, so you can afford some sophisticated software...

Could you charge the guy 50 cents for each trade, for the data entry?

LMAO

Now I'm curious enough about this whole thing that I'm going to see what I can find in terms of apps or formatting tools.

This guy's broker can't even give him a .csv file? I find that hard to believe.

BMK

[erchess]

Question

Assuming you can't get the broker to give you a profit and loss statement are you not stuck inputting the trades one at a time into something? What are the odds original poster is going to find something easier than the tax prep software he regularly uses?

I guess this guy would not come to me because I do charge a fee just because Sch D is on the return and on top of that twentyfive cents per transaction with NO quantity discounts. Call it my little way of saying I desire clients who are investors not traders.

[Gary2]

Do you know one that can handle huge amount of trades (and is also capable of handling wash sale, short sale, etc?

I have this client who had over 100,000 trades and his brokerage company cannot provide him with a gain/loss report.

Anyone making that many trades need to bite the bullet and either move to a broker with better reporting or pay for an add-on service such as the aforementioned Gainskeeper.

Is he already claiming day-trader status? He appears to be meeting the frequent-trade test.

[DonPriebe]

I have this client who had over 100,000 trades and his brokerage company cannot provide him with a gain/loss report.

If you could get all those trades into your software (and charge for it), you couldn't e-file in any case. The IRS limits on e-filing Schedule D are 5,000 short term and 5,000 long term transactions. (Pub 1346)