Turbotax import from online to desktop

Important links:

WARNING: If you decide to use our summary/aggregated TurboTax 8949 file that only reports one line for short-term and one line for long-term gains/losses- you still need to file or mail in your full 8949 to the IRS. Please consult a tax professional.

How To Download the TurboTax files?

To use TurboTax Online and import your form 8949, first log in to ZenLedger. Once you have created your reports, you can download your TurboTax files. You can download the files from Taxes > Tax Forms > IRS Form 8949.

Just click on “Download TurboTax files” and you will get a zip file.

For TurboTax Online, use the CSV file.

For TurboTax Desktop, use the TXF file.

How to import it into TurboTax?

1. Log into Turbotax

2. Browse Income and Expenses → Investment and Saving → Stocks, Cryptocurrency, Mutual funds, Bonds, Other (1099-B)

3. Select No thanks

4. Select Continue

5. Select Enter a different way

6. Select Cryptocurrency → continue

7. Select Use a CSV file → Continue

8. Select Zenledger from the drop-down → Continue

9. Drag and drop your TurboTax file from Zenledger to TurboTax

If you are still having trouble, TurboTax has great support. Here's a thread to get you started on finding the Cryptocurrency section in Premier Edition!

1. Why is Turbotax asking me to review all transactions? (US)

A review will appear from any source added to TurboTax (both OAuth and CSV) not only Zenledger. Users can skip the review section by selecting Continue without reviewing.

2. Why aggregated CSV?

TurboTax has limits on the numbers of transactions it can import, if it is more than their set number, we aggregate the file for the user.

Please Note: If you received a notification that your Consolidated 1099 is available, then please be aware that your tax data will not be available in TurboTax until ~72 hours after. This also applies if you received a corrected 1099.

Now that it's tax season, let's get filing. If you're a TurboTax user, please follow the instructions below to learn how to import your tastyworks data to prepare your taxes. Before you get started, make sure that your software is up-to-date. Typically, TurboTax will check for updates each time you launch the software, as illustrated below:

A short note about transaction limits

Importing tastyworks data requires TurboTax Premier or better. Also, there are transaction limits when importing your transaction data (Form 8949 & Schedule D) with Turbotax Online and TurboTax CD/download software. TurboTax Online has a ≈1,500 transaction limit. TurboTax CD/downloadable software has a ≈2,000 transaction limit per brokerage account with a total sales volume of less than $10 million. Furthermore, performance deterioration may occur if you reach or are near the transaction limits. If you experience any issues with importing data using the online version, you may want to consider switching to the CD/downloadable software.

To read more about this limitation, including how you may switch from the online version to the software version, please click here. However, you are still able to enter your total gain or loss manually. Please refer to the How to file when you have more than 2,000 transactions section below.

The examples below illustrate TurboTax Premier for a Mac, indicated by the gold header. The PC version of TurboTax Premier will display a blue header. Despite the color difference, the overall user experience should be the same.

Start by going to the Federal Taxes tab, then click Wages & Income, scroll to the Investment Income section, and select the Start button for Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds, and Other.

After clicking Start, the software will ask Did you sell any investments in 2020. If you closed a position in a non-IRA account and received a Consolidated 1099, then click Yes.

The software will ask if you received a 1099-B. If you did, then please click Yes.

Now, TurboTax will ask How do you want to enter your Form 1099-B into your return—Select Import from my bank or brokerage.

Next, search for tastyworks in the search field, then select. After selecting, click Continue.

After selecting tastyworks, enter your tastyworks account number (for example, 5WT#####) and social security number/TIN (without dashes). Then, click Continue. Please remember only to enter a non-ira, or non-qualified, account into the account number field IRA accounts do not receive a Consolidated 1099. To locate your account number, please log in to your account at tastyworks.com or click here. Your account number is listed in the blue Account Status area.

The password for entity accounts is the Tax Identification Number (TIN) associated with the account. Additionally, for a joint account, the password is the SSN of the person who initially started the joint account application.

If you just installed Turbotax and are experiencing issues with logging into your tastyworks account, then your software may need an update. Close TurboTax and relaunch it. TurboTax will retrieve updates as necessary, and you should be able to log in after that.

After you enter your tastyworks account credentials, the software will retrieve your information. This may take a moment.

When the software retrieves your information, you'll reach the These Documents are ready for Import section. Please select your account, then click Import Now. If your Consolidated 1099 included a Form 1099-DIV, Form 1099-INT, Form 1099-OID, or Form 1099-MISC, they would list in this section.

After clicking Import Now, the software will ask: Tell us if any of these apply to your sales. If any of the conditions listed apply to you, please select accordingly. Otherwise, select the last radio button labeled None of these apply to me. Then click Next.

Your transaction data is displayed in this section. The length of the list will depend on how many transactions you have. To continue, scroll down and select Done.

Importing Equity and Equity Options Data

Did you receive an error that some of your positions require some extra info?

If you receive an error stating that a transaction has missing information or requires information, then chances are you held a position to expiration. To remedy this, please check your 1099 to make sure that the missing data is, indeed, an expired position. 

You can quickly locate expired transactions in the Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transaction section by searching for an EXPIRATION label listed in the Additional Information column. Below, we have an example of a 2-lot of TSLA 01/19/18 285 puts that expired worthless.

If the position did expire and see YES displayed in the Needs Info Column, click the Edit button. Below are the two TSLA 285 puts that expired worthless.

When editing, enter 0.00 into the cost basis for expired short positions or enter 0.00 into the proceeds for expired long positions. In the example below, since these puts were short and expired worthless, you'll need to enter 0.00 into the cost basis. Click Done when complete, and you'll return to your transactions.

After viewing your imported transaction data, your short-term, long-term, and unknown-term numbers should align with your Summary of Sale Proceeds page in your Consolidated 1099. When complete, click Done. In the example below, the short-term gain in TurboTax matches the short-term on the Totals Summary Page.

The total proceeds listed in Turbotax may not match your total proceeds listed on your Consolidated 1099 due to the new 0.00 cost basis methodology adopted for short equity options. Furthermore, TurboTax will round each transaction to the nearest whole dollar. As a result, there may be a variance to the net gain/loss listed on your Consolidated 1099. As long as your overall p/l is consistent, the proceeds listed generally do not affect your filing. 

Finally, TurboTax will ask: Do you have any other investment sales from another bank or brokerage? If you do, then click Yes, otherwise click No. If you click No, you will return to the Federal Taxes > Wages & Income section.

Did you receive an error that some of your positions require some extra info?

Did you receive a Your request exceeds the maximum tax records allowed by Turbo Tax error? Well, no need to fear! You can still use TurboTax, but you'll have a few extra steps. You can also read more about this extra step by visiting the TurboTax FAQ or click here.

After receiving the error message above, click OK. Then, click Back twice to return to the Let Us Enter Your Investment Sale Info. Because of TurboTax's limitation, you'll need to select I'll type it in myself then click Continue, as illustrated below.

Next, TurboTax will ask Which bank or brokerage sent you this form? Select My bank/brokerage isn't here in the dropdown menu. Then type tastyworks in the Name of bank or brokerage field and enter your tastyworks account number.

After entering your brokerage information, this is where you'll need to refer to the Summary of Sale Proceeds page in your Consolidated 1099 to view your total Proceeds and Cost Basis. In the example below, you'll want to select I'll select a summary for each sales category (red box). Then enter the total Proceeds (orange box and arrow) and Cost Basis (blue box and arrow) into their corresponding box and select the Sale Category from the dropdown menu. The Box letter will correspond with the sale category (green box).

If your account was subject to any Wash Sales, you must click I need to enter amounts from box 1f, box 1g, or other adjustments. 

After entering your Proceeds and Cost Basis and Wash Sales (if applicable), the software will ask Do you have another sale to enter from your tastyworks 1099-B? If you had any profit/loss from positions subject to Long-Term or Unknown Term, click YES. Otherwise, click No.

Here, the software will sum up your total profit or loss. The gain or loss will align with what is on your Summary of Sale Proceeds page of your Consolidated 1099, as illustrated below.

In some cases, TurboTax will prompt you to mail your Consolidated 1099. If your filing requires you to mail your 1099, instructions will follow where you need to mail your tax forms.

How to file when you have more than 2,000 transactions

Before you pat yourself on the back and relax, you may want to check and see if you traded any cash-settled index options or futures (Section 1256 Contracts). In other words, if you see figures listed in the Regulated Futures Contracts & Section 1256 Options section in the Tax Reporting Statement (generally listed on page 1 of your Consolidated 1099) or received a Substitute Form 1099 Statement from trading futures, then you have one more step.

If you did not trade any Section 1256 Contracts, then you may disregard the section below. To read more about Section 1256 Contracts, then please click here.

Now, it’s time to enter the profit/loss from Section 1256 products. Return to the Investment Income section. You can enter your profit/loss by clicking the Start button next to Contracts and Straddles.

Then, click Yes to proceed.

Next, check any elections that apply to you. Otherwise, click Continue to move on. Of course, we always suggest consulting a tax professional if you have questions about whether an election applies to you. 

We’re almost there. Now check Section 1256 contracts marked to market.

Next, you should be on the How to Report Your Transactions page. Select I’ll report the totals from each broker or account.

Before you move on to the next section of TurboTax, you will want to dig up your Consolidated 1099. Namely, you'll want to go to the Tax Reporting Statement page (generally page 1), where you can locate the Aggregate profit or (loss) on contracts from trading Section 1256 Contracts. Below, we’ve illustrated where you can find this.

Did you trade any outright Smalls or CME futures contracts, options on futures, or any Section 1256 options contract? If so, you will need to take the sum of your aggregate profit or loss in your Consolidated 1099 (pictured above) and the aggregate profit or loss from your Substitute 1099 Statement for futures (shown below). Both tax forms, if issued, can be found in your Tax Center. Below, is an example of a Form 1099-B Futures with a $542.30 profit is illustrated below.

In this example, the Consolidated 1099 booked a $64.68 profit. You’re now ready to enter this number into the “Section 1256 Contracts” section of TurboTax. Here, you will need to enter:

• Brokers: tastyworks
• Account Description: You can write whatever you want here, as it's solely used as a reference.
• (Loss): if there was a loss, then enter the amount here
• Gain: $64.68 (or $542.30 + $64.68, which is $606.98, if you traded futures as well)

Now you’re ready to enter the total profit or loss of all your trading of Section 1256 Contracts. You will either have a number in (Loss) or Gain, and not in both. After entering, click Continue.

Lastly, TurboTax will round your gain/loss to the nearest dollar (Section 1256 options + futures trading). If everything looks correct, then click ‘DONE..’ You will return to the Income Summary page.

Take a deep breath. You’re all set! Now, go ahead and pat yourself on the back.

Importing Section 1256 Contracts: Cash-settled Index Options and Futures

If you are filing your return using Turbotax, please follow the instructions below, for adding your cryptocurrency 1099-B information. Under the "Wages and Income" section of Turbotax, you will want to scroll down to Investment Income and click the start button as referenced in the screenshot.

Click the "yes" button within the next 2 windows.

In this window, you will click the radio button next to "I'll type it in myself", then click continue.

For tastyworks specifically, you will want to choose "My bank/brokerage isn't here" from the following drop down, type in tastyworks and click continue.

Here you will click on the radio button next to "I'll enter a summary for each sales category" and you will be able to submit your total Proceeds, Cost Basis and whether your trades were Short-Term or Long-Term.

Import cryptocurrency 1099-B into TurboTax