Finance
Fact-checked

At SmartCapitalMind, we're committed to delivering accurate, trustworthy information. Our expert-authored content is rigorously fact-checked and sourced from credible authorities. Discover how we uphold the highest standards in providing you with reliable knowledge.

Learn more...

What is Form 1099-B?

Marina Martin
Marina Martin

Form 1099-B is a document used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a federal agency that collects and processes tax payments in the U.S., to record income other than salaried wages. It lists earnings and losses from brokered or bartered transactions, such as the sale of stocks or bonds or the exchange of goods and services via trade over a 12-month period. A brokerage or barter exchange is required to send this form to each person for whom they have processed a sale, and those individuals must include it with their tax filings by 15 April, which is the tax deadline in the U.S.

For investors, the document discloses the size of capital gains and profits from the sale of property or securities. It contains descriptions of the investments, the date on which the securities were purchased and for what price, the price at which investments were sold, and the profits earned less any commission costs. It also indicates whether someone experienced a capital loss, which occurs when a security or asset is sold for a lower price than it original cost.

Income reported on Form 1099-B must be included when an individual files his or her annual tax return with the IRS.
Income reported on Form 1099-B must be included when an individual files his or her annual tax return with the IRS.

Form 1099-B also covers the bartering, or trade, of services or property in a commercial setting. People are required to report the fair market value, which is a reasonable price for goods or property received, as income on the form. Barter exchanges performing more than 100 deals in a year are required to distribute the form to the traders, and they can be fined if they don't. A separate form has to be filed for each exchange.

Capital Gains

Earnings from brokered transactions, such as the sale of stock, are reported on a Form 1099-B.
Earnings from brokered transactions, such as the sale of stock, are reported on a Form 1099-B.

Capital gains or losses carry through to two other tax documents: Form 8949 and Schedule D Form 1040. Recipients of Form 1099-B started filing Form 8949s beginning in tax year 2011 when changes to cost basis rules were implemented. Cost basis reflects the original price paid for a security adjusted for any price manipulations, such as stock splits or dividends.

Form 1099-B is an IRS tax form.
Form 1099-B is an IRS tax form.

If someone's capital losses exceed his capital gains, he can use the difference between the two items as a deduction on his tax return. This lowers the amount of income on which he is taxed. There is a limit on the amount of capital losses that can be deducted each year, but if a person's losses exceed that amount, he can carry the excess over to the following year and apply the deduction then.

The Reason For the Form

Originally, the IRS required investors to disclose the cost basis of financial securities. That meant that they had to document the prices paid for securities to accurately report the size of profits or losses. If a person intentionally or unintentionally understated his profits, he had a smaller tax obligation. If he accidentally overstated it then he owed the IRS too much.

After the 2011 tax year, which included the income and expenses from that year, but was actually reported in 2012, the rules changed. Stock brokers were required to document the price that clients paid for financial securities. The form was expanded to include additional information, like whether brokers really have the cost basis for securities sold by clients.

While brokers must track the cost basis for stocks, bonds, options, and mutual funds, they are not responsible for the monitoring the cost for Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), which are index funds that contain many securities and which can be bought and sold like stocks. Some brokers choose to track ETF cost basis while others do not. Brokers are also asked to assess whether a client's earnings are short-term or long-term capital gains, based on how long the investment was held for.

Time Frame

Form 1099-B covers income from the sale of brokered or bartered assets during the previous calendar year. All brokers must file this form for each sale they broker between 1 January and 31 December, though multiple sales for one seller can be combined on one document. A copy must be sent to the seller by 15 February of the following year. To complete Form 1099-B, a brokerage firm or barter exchange must have personal detail about a client, including his name, address, and Social Security Number (SSN). Sellers who complete sales with multiple brokers or barter exchanges during the same calendar year receive multiple forms.

You might also Like

Discussion Comments

anon1001035

If I purchased stock in an LLC, would I have to report the purchase? Would I have to submit a 1099-B saying I purchased the stocks?

anon326868

We received money from the sale of a company my husband used to work at several years ago. We received three checks in 2012 and three 1099B forms in 2013. How do I enter these in our taxes? These list no Cost Basis and box 5 states "wash sale loss disallowed".

anon324585

In 2011 I sold all my stocks (at a loss) and got a 1099-b. So now I will be writing off $3000 per year until that loss is "used up".

In filing my 2012 taxes, what forms do I need to fill out for that loss? I understood how a 1099-b flowed to schedule-D and form 8949, but without a 1099-b I am at a loss how to proceed.

LisaLou

@bagley79-- Have you ever used any of the software programs that help you keep track of your stock trades during the year?

Once I started using one of these programs, this made my record keeping much easier. When I get my 1099-B Form in the mail I make sure that each transaction is included on my taxes, but I don't solely rely on it for tax reporting.

bagley79

I do my own taxes and always use the 1099-B Form I receive from my broker to enter in my stock transactions. All of these are entered on a Schedule D on my taxes.

Depending on how many trades I have done in a year, it takes some time to manually enter all of these trades. By going through each listed trade on the 1099-B I know that I haven't forgotten anything that is going to be submitted to the IRS.

John57

@MrMoody-- I know what it's like to carry over losses from the stock market from year to year. If I remember right, you are allowed to carry over $3000 each year until you have completely written off the loss.

Some years the 1099-B shows I had a profitable year, and other years I have an overall loss. I keep track of this myself during the year, but it is nice to have the actual form for comparative purposes.

everetra

@MrMoody - I’m sorry to hear that. Stocks are a risky business indeed, but at least you got some tax benefits like you said.

I don’t know much about the 1099-B form, but I do know about its parent form, the 1099 MISC form. This is a form for miscellaneous income, usually meaning self-employed income.

I do some computer work on the side and so I get this form every year. I’m not getting rich, and I dislike the fact that my part time income is increasing my tax liability, but I fill out the 1099 income form, render unto Caesar, and ago about my merry way.

MrMoody

I use a software program to do my taxes; in the years 1999, 2000 and 2001, I had to file an IRS form 1099-B.

This was because I had lost a lot of money in the stock market – this was during the dot com bubble and subsequent implosion – and I had to report the net losses on this form.

I won’t tell you how much I lost. I will say that the only silver lining was that it substantially reduced my taxable income, not only for that year, but for the next three years, because my losses were large enough that I was allowed to carry them over.

Post your comments
Login:
Forgot password?
Register:
    • Income reported on Form 1099-B must be included when an individual files his or her annual tax return with the IRS.
      By: Melpomene
      Income reported on Form 1099-B must be included when an individual files his or her annual tax return with the IRS.
    • Earnings from brokered transactions, such as the sale of stock, are reported on a Form 1099-B.
      By: leungchopan
      Earnings from brokered transactions, such as the sale of stock, are reported on a Form 1099-B.
    • Form 1099-B is an IRS tax form.
      Form 1099-B is an IRS tax form.