What is Form 1099-B?
Your broker, mutual fund company or other financial institution will send you this form to report the sale of stocks, mutual funds, bonds and other securities. It comes either as a single form, or as part of a consolidated tax statement with other financial and/or tax information, such as dividends and interest received.
Each Form 1099-B reports the details of one sale to the IRS. When reported on a consolidated tax statement, you may see a list of multiple sales, each line item representing a single sale.
IMPORTANT: Starting with 2011, the form has new boxes so the IRS can collect cost basis information as required by a recent federal law.
Entering Form 1099-B into TurboTax
Don't worry! When you file your return with TurboTax, we will ask you the right questions about your investment sales, calculate the correct amount of gains or losses to report, and fill out all of the correct forms for you.
If you've already gone through the step-by-step interview and want to jump directly to the entry screen for Form 1099-B, follow these directions.
- Select the Federal Taxes tab (the Personal tab in the Home & Business edition).
- Select Wages & Income, then select Explore on My Own.
- Scroll down the Wages & Income page until you see the Investment Income group.
- Select the Start/Update button to the right of the Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Other category.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
What are the new changes to the Form 1099-B?
Prior to 2011, only a limited amount of information regarding your sales of securities was reported on Form 1099-B. The information reported under the old rules only allowed the IRS to verify the gross amount of your sale, not the net gain or loss from the sale.
In addition, under the old rules only the date of the sale was reported, so the IRS was not able to verify how long you held the security before selling.
Starting in 2011, these reporting rules are changing to include the reporting of both cost basis and date of acquisition information. The IRS will now be able to verify that the correct amount of gain or loss is reported, and that the correct dates of acquisition and sale are reported.
What specific information is reported on the Form 1099-B?
Here is a table summarizing the information reported on Form 1099-B:
| Box No. | Box Name | Description |
| 1a | Date of sale or exchange | Generally, the trade date of the sale or exchange. |
| 1b | Date of acquisition | Left blank if securities were acquired on a variety of dates, or box 6a is checked. |
| 1c | Type of gain or loss | Only completed if information available. |
| 1d | Stock or other symbol | The stock or other symbol of the securities sold. |
| 1e | Quantity sold | The quantity sold. |
| 2a | Stocks, bonds, etc. | Generally, the gross proceeds after reduction for selling expenses, including commissions. |
| 2b | If box checked, loss based on amount in 2a is not allowed | |
| 3 | Cost or other basis | The cost basis unless box 6a is checked. |
| 4 | Federal income tax withheld | Backup withholding. |
| 5 | Wash sale loss disallowed | Loss disallowed because of the wash sale rules. |
| 6a | Check if noncovered security | Generally, a security purchased or acquired before the effective date of the new reporting rules. |
| 6b | Check if basis reported to IRS | Checked if box 6a is not checked, or if box 6a is checked and box 3 is completed. |
| 7 | Bartering | Gross amount received by a member or client of a barter exchange. |
| 8 | Description | Brief description of item. |
| 9 | Profit or (loss) realized in 2012 on closed contracts | Regulated futures contracts (of interest to brokers only) |
| 10 | Unrealized profit or (loss) on open contracts—12/31/2011 | Regulated futures contracts (of interest to brokers only) |
| 11 | Unrealized profit or (loss) on open contracts—12/31/2012 | Regulated futures contracts (of interest to brokers only) |
| 12 | Aggregate profit or (loss) on contracts | Regulated futures contracts (of interest to brokers only) |
| 13 | State | State abbreviation. |
| 14 | State identification no. | Payer’s state identification number. |
| 15 | State tax withheld | State income tax withheld. |
How do I enter 1099-B information from my broker?
Each brokerage firm's statement differs from the others. To help you enter the necessary information in TurboTax, we're providing step-by-step instructions for some of the major brokerage firms.
Please click on any relevant link below:
What is cost basis?
Generally, cost basis is the original price of an asset, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds and property. Cost basis includes the purchase price and any associated purchase costs.
For a more detailed review of the cost basis rules, see Cost Basis of Investments.
What if I have Multiple/Corrected Forms 1099-B?
As a general rule, you should only receive one Form 1099-B from each financial institution. If you receive a second Form 1099-B from a financial institution, take a careful look at both forms and identify the one that has the Corrected box checked in the upper part of the form. Under these circumstances, you should only enter information from the form with the Corrected box checked in TurboTax, and ignore the other form.
If neither form has the Corrected box checked, take a careful look at the Payer information (including Account number) for both forms to see if they match. If they are a perfect match, or if you are otherwise uncertain how to proceed, please contact the financial institution for an explanation before completing your return.
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