Ian Bryzek, CPA
How do you handle missing basis records?
Missing records require a documented search and reconstruction path rather than an unsupported tax estimate.
Old files may have been discarded after a move, disaster, or decades of household changes.
A search log shows the reasonable effort behind the file and helps avoid repeating the same requests.
What to gather
- List of missing records
- Archive requests and responses
- Prior tax returns
- Public-record searches
- Notes separating evidence from memory
Who usually handles what
- Ian can organize the tax reporting question and the supporting records.
- The executor, trustee, or account custodian supplies the records and confirms the file's authority.
A practical next step
Keep every retrieval response in the file, including negative responses.
Related guides
This is general tax information, not tax or legal advice. Outcomes depend on the documents, ownership, timing, and law that apply to the particular facts.