How to Upload Robinhood to TurboTax

Bringing your investment information from Robinhood into your tax return can feel daunting, but it's a straightforward process once you know the steps. This article will guide you through connecting your Robinhood account to TurboTax so you can import your tax forms automatically. We will also cover what to do if the import doesn't work and how to handle special cases like cryptocurrency.

Before You Begin: Finding Your Robinhood 1099

Before you can import anything, you need your tax documents. Robinhood consolidates most of your tax information onto a single form, the Consolidated Form 1099, which typically includes several parts for different types of income.

Robinhood makes these forms available by mid-February for the preceding tax year. You'll receive an email notification when your documents are ready. To find them:

• On the Robinhood App: Tap the Account icon (person icon) in the bottom right corner, then tap the Menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top right. Go to "Statements & History," and then select "Tax documents."
• On the Robinhood Website: Click on "Account" in the top right corner, then go to "History," and select "Tax documents."

Your Consolidated 1099 will likely contain the following sections:

• Form 1099-B, Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions: This section is the most important for investors. It lists all of your sales of stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies. It details your proceeds, cost basis (what you originally paid), acquisition and sale dates, and your resulting capital gains or losses.
• Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions: If you owned stocks or ETFs that paid dividends, this section summarizes the total dividend income you received throughout the year.
• Form 1099-INT, Interest Income: This section lists any interest you earned, perhaps from uninvested cash in your brokerage account if you participate in certain programs.
• Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income: This might include other income, such as referral bonuses or other rewards you received from Robinhood.

Make sure you have this document accessible, as you will need two key pieces of information from it for the import process: your Account Number and a Document ID. Both are typically found at the top of the first page of your Consolidated Form 1099.

Importing Your Robinhood 1099 Data into TurboTax

The best and most accurate way to get your Robinhood data into your tax return is by using the direct import feature. This process pulls all the transaction detail automatically and correctly places dividend, interest, and sales data into the right spots on your return. This saves an enormous amount of time, especially if you had many trades during the year.

Here is a step-by-step guide to importing your data:

1. Log in to TurboTax: Open your tax return in your preferred version of TurboTax (Online, Desktop, etc.). Most of these steps are similar across all versions.

2. Navigate to Income & Wages: Go to the main section of your return that covers income. The section is commonly called "Federal" or "Wages & Income."

3. Find the Investment Income Section: Look for a subsection for investments. It’s usually labeled "Investments and Savings" or "Investment Income." Click "Show More" or "Start" to expand it. You are looking for the category covering stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and other investments, often represented by the 1099-B form.

4. Choose to Add an Investment: You'll see several options here. Click "Start" or "Add" next to the line item for "Stocks, Cryptocurrency, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Other."

5. Search for Your Broker: TurboTax will ask if you received a 1099-B. Click yes, and a search box will appear where you can type in the name of your financial institution. Type "Robinhood" and select it from the list.

6. Enter Your Credentials: This is the key step. TurboTax needs to connect securely to Robinhood. It will ask for two pieces of information directly from your Consolidated 1099 form:

   • Your Robinhood Account Number (without dashes)
   • The Document ID

   Both are located at the top of your PDF tax document from Robinhood. Enter them carefully and click “Continue.”

7. Wait for the Import: TurboTax will now connect to Robinhood's system and pull in your data. If you have hundreds of transactions, this can take a few minutes.

8. Review the Imported Summary: Once the import is complete, TurboTax will show you a summary of the imported information. You’ll see totals for dividends, interest, and the number of stock sales transactions. It is a good practice to compare these summary totals to the ones on your actual Robinhood 1099 form to ensure everything looks correct.

9. Finalize the Process: Once you've confirmed that the information appears correct, click “Continue.” TurboTax will process all the individual transactions and properly report everything on Schedule D (Capital Gains and Losses) and other relevant forms.

What If the Direct Import Fails? Manual Entry as a Backup

Sometimes, technology doesn't cooperate. The import partner might be down for maintenance, or there might be an issue connecting to your account. If the automated import fails after a few tries, you can always enter the information manually. It takes more time but gets the job done.

Instead of manually typing in every single trade—which could be hundreds or thousands—the IRS allows you to enter summary totals for your sales.

1. Follow the steps above to get to the screen where you search for your bank.
2. Instead of searching for Robinhood, look for an option that says "I'll type it in myself" or "Enter a different way."
3. TurboTax will ask you for details from your 1099-B. You can enter the summary totals. Look on your Robinhood 1099-B for the summary tables, which group your sales by category. Common categories include:
   • Short-term gains/losses where cost basis was reported to the IRS (Box A)
   • Short-term gains/losses where cost basis was NOT reported to the IRS (Box B)
   • Long-term gains/losses where cost basis was reported to the IRS (Box D)
   • Long-term gains/losses where cost basis was NOT reported to the IRS (Box E)
4. For each category, you will enter the summary totals listed on your 1099-B: Total Proceeds, Total Cost Basis, and any Wash Sale Loss Disallowed amount.
5. After entering your summary information for stock trades, remember to go back and manually enter your dividend income from Form 1099-DIV and interest income from Form 1099-INT in the appropriate sections of TurboTax.

Handling Robinhood Cryptocurrency Transactions

Reporting cryptocurrency has become much simpler. Robinhood now provides cryptocurrency transaction data on a Form 1099-B, just like stocks.

When you use the direct import method described above, TurboTax should automatically pull in your cryptocurrency dispositions (sales) along with your stock trades. You don’t need to do anything extra.

When you review the summary of your import, you should see a line for crypto transactions if you had any. TurboTax will handle the reporting for you by placing sales prices and cost basis information on Form 8949, which is the form used for reporting sales of capital assets.

Common Questions and Troubleshooting Tips

Here are a few quick solutions for common speedbumps you might encounter during the import process.

Why Are There So Many Transactions?

Active traders, even those making small trades, can easily rack up dozens or even hundreds of transactions in a year. This is perfectly normal. It’s also the exact reason why using the automatic import feature is so important—it saves you from the tedious and error-prone process of entering each trade manually.

Understanding Wash Sales

If you see a "Wash Sale Loss Disallowed" adjustment on your 1099-B, it means you sold a security at a loss and then bought the same or a "substantially identical" security within 30 days before or after the sale. The IRS does not allow you to claim that loss immediately. The disallowed loss is instead added to the cost basis of the new shares you purchased. The automatic import between Robinhood and TurboTax handles these adjustments correctly, so you generally don't have to calculate this yourself, but it’s good to know what it means when you see it.

What if a Cost Basis is Incorrect or Missing?

For most transactions of publicly traded stocks bought and sold through Robinhood, the cost basis will be accurate. However, you have the right and responsibility to correct any information that you know to be inaccurate. After importing your data, TurboTax offers an option to review and edit individual transactions. You can click through your sales and modify the cost basis for a specific trade if necessary.

Final Thoughts

Connecting Robinhood to TurboTax simplifies tax preparation for investors by automating the transfer of your 1099 information, including all trade details, dividends, and interest payments. By following the direct import steps, you can save hours of data entry and reduce the likelihood of errors, though it's always wise to review the imported summary against your official document.

While the import process is about data mechanics, many tax situations bring up deeper questions about strategy—like how wash sales affect future trades or the tax implications of exercising employee stock options. This is why we created Feather AI for tax professionals. Our platform allows practitioners to ask complex questions in plain English and instantly receive clear, accurate answers backed by IRS code sections and rulings. It transforms time-consuming research into a quick verification, freeing up professionals to provide better guidance for their clients.