Stock-Tax Return. HP/HPE Alumni

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Stock: Tax return (^Updated Aug 14, 2025. Needs more updating)

This page gives details for only one aspect of the many HP/HPE-related stocks. If you were ever an HP shareholder, you may now have shares of HPQ, HPE, Keysight, and/or Agilent – in different accounts. If ever an HPE shareholder, you may now have shares of DXC – and may not have received cash payouts for MFGP and PRSP. Only you – not the company, plan administrators, transfer agents, brokers, or the IRS – can reconstruct your full stock history. Transactions were often tracked and reported differently – or not at all.

When finished with this page, go to: HP/HPE-Related Stocks

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

However, some brokers and administrators interpreted the transaction differently -- or did not report, or reported incorrectly -- to the IRS. 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.

Due to the many complex HP-related stock events, only you – not the company, plan administrators, transfer agents, brokers, or the IRS – can reconstruct your full stock history. Transactions were often tracked and reported differently – or not at all. Retain your documents and tax calculations indefinitely. Admin and Broker Issues

Member advice on stock issues for U.S. tax return

Amended return. You can file Form 1040X "...within 3 years (including extensions) after the date you filed your original return or within 2 years after the date you paid the tax, whichever is later." IRS link [When you launch a tax-prep app, it asks if you want to file an amended return.]

You could pay taxes twice on the same income. At the time you acquired employee stock, you paid income tax on the company contribution. If you sell stock, the broker will use the cost basis in their records (which should not be "unknown" -- i.e. $0) to report your apparent profit to the IRS.

The IRS has a form to help you deal with cost basis discrepancies.

"Use Form 8949 to reconcile amounts that were reported to you and the IRS on Form 1099-B or 1099-S (or substitute statement) with the amounts you report on your return. The subtotals from this form will then be carried over to Schedule D (Form 1040), where gain or loss will be calculated in aggregate."
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8949

See the clear table on page 6 of the 8949 instructions: "You received a Form 1099-B (or substitute statement) and the basis shown in box 1e is incorrect."... or "You received a Form 1099-B (or substitute statement) and the type of gain (or loss) shown in box 2 is incorrect"
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8949.pdf See Page 8.

If you don't have good records of your employee stock purchases -- or did not input your lot-and-cost information into your broker's system -- you can use our spreadsheets to estimate your cost basis for most HP/HPE-related stocks for any span of HP employment from Jul 1959 through the Nov 2000 plan changeover. hpalumni.org/StockSpread

Fastest if you start at Employee Stock and work through the steps. (current spreadsheet is dated April 7 -- version 14 since 2004.)

You can do all of this with tax software -- including downloading the 1099-B information from your broker's website. (For example, see TurboTax Import Partner list.)

TurboTax: Using TurboTax for ESPP shares -- step-by-step with screenshots. Now v02 with Capital Gain Worksheet and Form 8949.

When you don't know dates, enter a single lot with "various" as the date. Brokers do that on their 1099-B reports to the IRS -- and tax-prep apps will let you enter "various."

Be sure to save the documents you used -- plus, for future reference, a copy of the HPE "Dear Shareholder" letter (which was not actually sent to shareholders.)

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

("IRS Can Audit for Three Years, Six, or Forever" American Bar Association )

You're done!

References

If you elect to hire professional help, the IRS explains the different types of tax professional. You can search the online IRS Federal Tax Return Preparer Directory by geography and qualifications -- or by name to verify credentials: Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers.

HP Share Ownership Program Tax Reporting provides helpful information collected by HPAA member Alan Silverstein and posted on his personal website: (Revised December 11, 2013.)

Articles on employee stock purchase tax issues recommended by members: Sale of ESPP shares TurboTax article on ESPP

Official IRS website, which is well done and has a very good search box: https://www.irs.gov

Official TurboTax help site: https://ttlc.intuit.com -- which you can search even if you don't use TurboTax or don't want to register your copy.

See also our main page on general stock issues: https://www.Stock Recovery Process and our page on Potential Micro Focus "Seattle SpinCo" 2017 U.S. tax liability.

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