Computershare 1099-B: DRIP and Transfer Agent Sales into TurboTax

You held shares directly with Computershare — maybe through a company dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP), a direct stock purchase plan, or stock you got as an employee — and this year you sold some. Now there's a Computershare 1099-B, TurboTax has no "Computershare" to import from, and half your cost basis is blank. This is one of the messier 1099-B situations, and it's almost always the cost basis, not the sale itself, that makes it hard.

Computershare is a transfer agent, not a brokerage. It administers company stock plans directly, which means your tax document behaves a little differently from a Schwab or Fidelity 1099-B. Here's how to handle it.

Why Computershare Is Different

A transfer agent holds shares registered directly in your name on behalf of the issuing company, rather than in a brokerage account. That changes two things at tax time:

• There's usually no direct TurboTax import. Computershare typically isn't in TurboTax's broker import list the way a brokerage is, so the one-click import isn't an option. You work from the PDF.
• Cost basis is frequently incomplete. If you've been in a DRIP for years, many of your shares were purchased before cost-basis reporting rules took effect (generally 2011–2012 for stocks). Those are noncovered shares, and Computershare isn't required to report their basis to the IRS — so the 1099-B shows the sale but leaves basis blank.

The sale transactions are straightforward. The blank basis is the work.

Step 1: Download Your Computershare 1099-B

1. Log in to Computershare Investor Center (investorcenter.computershare.com)
2. Go to Statements & Documents → Tax Documents (or Tax Forms)
3. Select the tax year
4. Download the 1099-B PDF

If you held plans for more than one company through Computershare, you may have a separate 1099-B for each — grab them all.

Step 2: Get the Transactions Into TurboTax

Since there's no reliable direct import, convert the PDF:

1. Upload your Computershare 1099-B PDF to a PDF-to-CSV/TXF converter
2. Preview the extracted transactions against the PDF
3. Download TXF (best for TurboTax Desktop) or CSV (best for a spreadsheet or CPA)
4. In TurboTax Desktop: File → Import → From Accounting Software → TXF File

This loads every sale into Form 8949 with the reported figures intact. See CSV vs TXF vs Excel for which fits your case. For DRIP sales with dozens or hundreds of small reinvestment lots, converting beats manual entry by a wide margin — see 1099-B with too many transactions.

Step 3: Fix the Noncovered Cost Basis

This is the part that actually matters for a long-held DRIP. For noncovered shares, the 1099-B reports proceeds but no basis, and if you report $0 basis you'll massively overpay tax on the sale.

To reconstruct basis:

1. Pull your Computershare transaction history or annual statements — they list every reinvestment purchase, date, and price
2. Add up the cost of the specific shares you sold, using your lot-selection method (FIFO unless you specified otherwise)
3. Include reinvested dividends as part of basis — you already paid tax on those dividends each year, so they count toward what you paid for the shares

The mechanics of reinvested-dividend basis are covered in detail in our DRIP dividend reinvestment cost basis guide, and the general noncovered case in noncovered securities with missing cost basis. Once you have the correct basis, enter it on the affected Form 8949 rows so column (e) is no longer blank.

Employee Stock and Gifted/Inherited Shares

Two Computershare situations need extra care:

• Employee stock (ESPP/RSU) administered by Computershare. The discount or vest value may already be in your W-2, and the 1099-B basis can understate your true basis — see ESPP cost basis double-counted and RSU cost basis wrong.
• Inherited or gifted DRIP shares. Basis rules differ — inherited shares generally get a stepped-up basis as of the date of death, which the 1099-B won't reflect. See inherited stock cost basis step-up.

Verify Before Filing

1. Confirm every noncovered row now has a cost basis filled in
2. Match Form 8949 total proceeds to the Computershare 1099-B summary
3. Check that reinvested-dividend lots were included in basis
4. Verify short-term vs long-term (long-held DRIP shares are almost always long-term)

FAQ

Does Computershare import into TurboTax?

Usually not. Computershare is a transfer agent, not a brokerage, so it typically doesn't appear in TurboTax's broker import list. Download the 1099-B PDF and convert it to TXF or CSV instead.

Why is the cost basis blank on my Computershare 1099-B?

Those are noncovered shares — bought before cost-basis reporting rules took effect, so Computershare isn't required to report their basis to the IRS. You reconstruct it from your transaction history and enter it yourself.

How do I find the cost basis for my DRIP shares?

Use your Computershare transaction history or annual statements, which list every reinvestment purchase and price. Add up the cost of the specific shares you sold, including reinvested dividends, which count toward basis.

Do reinvested dividends count toward my cost basis?

Yes. You already paid income tax on those dividends each year, so the reinvested amount is part of what you paid for the shares. Leaving it out means paying tax twice on the same money.

Where do I download my Computershare 1099-B?

Log in to Computershare Investor Center, go to Statements & Documents → Tax Documents, select the tax year, and download the 1099-B PDF. If you hold plans for multiple companies, grab each one.

My Computershare DRIP has hundreds of tiny reinvestment lots. Do I enter them all?

Convert the PDF and import the whole 1099-B at once rather than typing each lot. Then focus your effort on reconstructing basis for the noncovered shares you actually sold.

Are my Computershare shares covered or noncovered?

Shares purchased (including dividend reinvestments) before the cost-basis reporting cutoff — generally 2011 for stock — are noncovered, so basis isn't reported. Shares bought after are covered, with basis reported. A long-held DRIP usually contains both.

What if I lost my Computershare purchase history?

Download your full transaction history from Investor Center, or request records from Computershare. Reconstructing noncovered basis without them is guesswork, so get the records before you file rather than estimating.

Do I owe tax on reinvested dividends I never took in cash?

Yes — reinvested dividends are taxable income in the year they're reinvested and are reported on your 1099-DIV. The upside: that reinvested amount becomes part of your cost basis, reducing your gain when you eventually sell.

Bottom Line

A Computershare 1099-B is rarely hard because of the sales — it's hard because of blank noncovered cost basis on long-held DRIP shares. Convert the PDF to get the transactions into TurboTax cleanly, then do the real work: reconstruct basis from your transaction history, include reinvested dividends, and fill in every noncovered row before you file.

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Sold shares held at Computershare? Convert your 1099-B free — upload the PDF, get every sale into a clean TXF or CSV, and spend your time on the cost basis instead of retyping DRIP lots.