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Cost Basis Spreadsheets

Part of HPAA's Stock Recovery Process: Employee Stock

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A team of HPAA volunteers has developed spreadsheets to help you determine cost basis for your HP/HPE-related stock (HP, HPE, DXC, Seattle SpinCo, Micro Focus, Agilent, and Keysight.)

Note. The cost basis treatment for the 2017 Micro Focus spinoff and merger used in the HPAA Cost Basis spreadsheets is based on a legal opinion provided to HPE by outside tax counsel.

Plan administrators, transfer agents, and brokerages vary significantly in how (or if) they track gain/loss and cost basis for the many complex HP-related stock events – and what (if anything) they report to the IRS.

Issues reported by HPAA members: Fidelity Merrill Lynch Morgan Stanley Schwab TDAmeritrade Vanguard Brokerage

FWIW, to date, no member has indicated -- privately or on the HPAA forums -- that their return has been questioned by the IRS due to how they reported the many extremely complex HP/HPE-related stock transactions.

The wide variation in reporting of the 2017 Micro Focus spinoff and merger affects cost basis calculations for all HP/HPE-related stock acquired before the HP/HPE split of 2015-10-21. As a result, neither the 2019 Micro Focus "Return of Value" transaction nor the 2021 sale of Perspecta can be factored into the HPAA cost basis spreadsheets.

Donating stock. "If you are planning donations to charity anyway, you may be able to avoid having to figure out the basis for stocks by just donating the stock. Check with an accountant or tax advisor for details or possible pitfalls. Saved me a lot of grief." --HPAA member

Which spreadsheets to download?

The spreadsheets you need depend on how and when you acquired your stock lots.

Be sure you are using current versions.

A. If acquired via employee stock purchase plan. The HPAA Cost Basis spreadsheets cover the various stock purchase plans over the years (which had discounts varying between 33% and 0%.)

► If employee stock purchase 1959 through 10/31/2000. To determine your cost basis for each lot of spinoff shares, you select from rows that have been pre-filled with official data for each SOP or ESPP purchase cycle.
Use our Pre-2001 spreadsheet:
Version 14, updated April 5, 2018, includes: Keysight, dividend reinvestment (DRIP), 2002 accelerated vesting.

If you don't have good records -- or did not input your lot-and-cost information into your broker's system -- you can use our spreadsheet to estimate your cost basis for most HP/HPE-related stocks for any span of HP employment from 7/1/1959 through the 11/1/2000 plan changeover. See the Directions and tips page for details.

Click to download: HPQ-Pre2001-SpinoffTaxCalc-v14a.xlsx
Directions and tips Reference example

►If employee stock purchase 11/01/2000 through 10/31/2017. For this time period, the HP employee purchase plan was more complex and you need to determine ordinary income or capital gain.
Use a different spreadsheet -- our Post-2000 spreadsheet.
Click to download: HPQ-Post2000-SpinoffTaxCalc-v01.xlsx (There are two tabs -- one for HPQ and one for HPE and HPE spinoffs. Directions are included in the spreadsheet.)

B. If acquired via service award, option, equity award plan, dividend reinvestment program, or open-market purchase -- i.e. not via employee stock purchase.
Again, use our Pre-2001 spreadsheet.
Click to download: HPQ-Pre2001-SpinoffTaxCalc-v14a.xlsx

C. If acquired via Compaq employee stock purchase plan. Click to download: CPQ-ESPP-SpinoffTaxCalc-v01.xlsx

Tips:

- Excel tips: Member tips on using complex spreadsheets -- with links to Microsoft articles.

- Member advice on Obtaining Stock Records

- For any of the spinoffs, your broker may have used a different formula than the one suggested in the Cost Basis letter provided by the company -- resulting in a somewhat different value. For example, Fidelity stock issues reported by members

- If you set up a dividend reinvestment program (DRIP) in any of your accounts, additional shares were automatically purchased at market price. You paid taxes on the dividends. The resulting shares have a cost basis and spinoff spinoff shares, but the special ESPP tax calculations do not apply -- therefore, DRIP is not included in the Post-2000 spreadsheet. DRIP is included in Version 14 of the Pre-2001 spreadsheet.

- Be sure to save the spreadsheets you have modified -- under a different filename -- and keep them for future reference when you sell shares, etc.

Notes:

- The HPAA Cost Basis spreadsheets are based on dates and values from official HP documents. Your records may show transactions executed a day or two later -- or with a penny or two cost variation due to rounding.

- The current spreadsheet versions supersede recent files named "MicroFocusUSTax..." and "HPRelatedStockBasis..." -- plus HPAA files named "HP...Stock_Purchase_Valuation..." dating back to 2004.

Next step: Step 7. Stock Tax Return Member advice on stock issues for U.S. tax return. Includes "Using TurboTax for ESPP shares" -- step-by-step with screenshots.

Data sources for the spreadsheets.

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