Check wash sales from your E*TRADE account (post-Morgan-Stanley-merger edition)
By Wash-Sale Guardian (who's behind it) · Published 2026-07-14 · Last updated 2026-09-30 · How the checker works
E*TRADE is currently the trickiest broker to export from — the February 2026 system merger with Morgan Stanley introduced a new transaction-export format with community-reported quantity bugs. That makes independent verification MORE valuable, not less: your 1099-B still only nets wash sales inside this one account, while the IRS counts every account you own (the cross-account trap). Drop your export into our free checker. It reads the older E*TRADE export (TransactionDate and TransactionType columns). The newer Morgan Stanley layout (Activity/Trade Date and Activity Type columns) isn't supported yet: the app refuses it by name rather than guess at its rows.
How to export your E*TRADE trade history (CSV)
- Log in → Accounts → Activity.
- Select the account and set the transaction filter to All Transactions.
- Choose the duration and click Download → CSV (XLSX also offered — use CSV; edited XLSX files are a known source of import failures).
- Cross-check the totals against your statement — post-merger exports have documented data-quality issues, and a wash-sale answer built on wrong quantities is worse than none.
- Older pre-merger history may be PDF-only. Export what CSV exists; symbols with incomplete history should be flagged by your checker, not guessed at (ours suppresses verdicts — methodology).
E*TRADE CSV quirks (and what our parser does with them)
| Quirk | What it looks like | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Preamble line | "For Account:,####1234" before the header | Row-1 parsers break; must scan for the real header |
| Two-digit years | 06/10/26 | Century pivot must be handled or dates land in 1926 |
| Verbose transaction types | "Bought To Open", "Sold Short", "Bought To Cover" | Substring order matters ("Bought To Cover" ≠ plain buy); short legs need separate handling |
| Option display symbols | "NVDA Sep 18 '26 $500 Call" | Prose-style contracts must normalize to real identities |
| Post-merger format drift | New Morgan Stanley layout since Feb 2026 | Not supported yet: the app refuses this layout by name (its option rows name the contract only in Description) |
1099-B behavior
Same story as every broker, with a merger asterisk: same-account disallowances in box 1g; cross-account adjustments are yours on Form 8949 code W (TurboTax steps). Post-merger 1099s consolidate differently than the old E*TRADE forms — reconcile carefully in February.
Check it free
Open the checker, drop your E*TRADE export plus Robinhood, Schwab, Fidelity, or IBKR files, and get the cross-account picture no single broker can show — free, in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
Did the E*TRADE / Morgan Stanley merger change my trade exports?
Yes. The platforms merged systems in February 2026 and the transaction export format changed, with community reports of quantity discrepancies in the new files. Cross-check export totals against your statements. Our checker reads only the older E*TRADE layout for now (TransactionDate and TransactionType columns) and refuses the new Morgan Stanley layout by name.
How do I download E*TRADE trade history as CSV?
Accounts → Activity → select the account → set the filter to All Transactions → choose your duration → Download → CSV. Older history may only be available as PDF statements; export whatever CSV range exists and expect a good checker to flag symbols whose history is incomplete.
Does E*TRADE track wash sales across my other brokers?
Not required to. Brokers must report only same-account wash sales, and E*TRADE reports same-account adjustments in box 1g of the 1099-B. It can’t see your accounts at Robinhood, Schwab, Fidelity, or any IRAs elsewhere. The IRS still counts them all (IRC §1091), so check what your 1099-B shows and handle the rest yourself.
Get the year-end wash-sale reminders
Short emails at the moments that matter: before Nov 30 (the last day to sell at a loss and still re-buy within 2026); before Dec 31; when 1099-Bs arrive in February; and the day Guardian Pro goes on sale. The one-page year-end checklist PDF comes with it.
Sign up and a link to the PDF appears right here. Confirm the email we send and you're on the list: about four to six emails a year, and you can unsubscribe in one click from any of them. Your trades stay in your browser. The form sends Kit only your email address and the page you signed up from — nothing else (see Privacy).