This is an e-mail that I got forwarded from Penson just yesterday: "Good afternoon, Thank you for your inquiry. Unfortunately the account in question has been identified by our Cost Basis Dev team as still needing a corrected 1099 due to unmatched tax lots or cost basis related information. They have been unable to provide us with an estimated time of completion. We are aware of the nearing tax filing deadlines and are working as diligently as possible to provide the information to the end clients as soon as possible. If your customer is needing to file and is unable to do so due to the current 1099 issues, they can utilize the IRS form 8949 to indicate their cost basis analysis. Please note that this is not a solution to fix the 1099s, but merely an avenue the end client can utilize to complete their taxes. We apologies for the continued delays and inconveniences. Please feel free to contact us with any further questions or concerns. Thank you"
They also screwed up the 1099 year 2010 information they sent to the IRS and I got a notice from the IRS
Was I ambushed or was there enough advance info letting traders know in 2010 that there was going to be a new sheriff in town for 2011 ? I came back from overseas and discovered all these WASH SALES on my 1099 from Penson. I traded no differently than for many years earlier in my pairs trading: one leg a gainer and one a loser. I frequently traded the same pair over and over scalping a rolling trend in the spread. I had never been called out for a wash sale. I have not examined the form closely yet, but will soon, as I have caught up on my higher priority domestic issues. I am not looking forward to paying taxes on the leg with the gain and not being to offset with the leg having the loss. Again, was there advance warning about this in 2010 for 2011 ?