8949 Data Entry Options ?

[rfassett]

Rich asked in another thread if there was a way to avoid entering every stock transaction onto the 8949. I did not want to pirate that thread, but it made me wonder, how many transactions do you enter before you opt for one of the non-data entry methods? I ask because it seems every return I pick up at this point of the season has stock transactions. I finished one earlier today that had about 70 entries but I don't think I could have automated it in a manner that made sense. They were coming from 5 different Edward Jones accounts the statements of which are very easy to data entry from by the way.

[kcjenkins]

You said it yourself, each case is different, and if you " don't think I could have automated it in a manner that made sense" then your decision is the right one for that return. We each find the 'automating' easy or hard, depending on our own skills with spreadsheets, etc, and I don't think there can be one "rule: that always works.