Form 1099-B: What Your Broker Sends You
Published November 6, 2026
If you sold stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or certain commodities through a broker, you may get a Form 1099-B. The form shows what you received from each sale. You use it to report those sales on your return. This guide is general information. It is not advice about your return.
Who sends the form
Publication 550 says your broker should send you Form 1099-B, Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions, for each sale. For 2025 sales, you should receive the form by February 16, 2026. The IRS also gets a copy from the broker.
If a nominee received sale money that belongs to you, that person should send you the form. Publication 550 says it shows the gross proceeds received for you.
What the form shows
The form shows the proceeds from each sale. Publication 550 gives examples where the broker reported the amount after a commission, so compare it with your records. For a covered security, the form also shows your basis in box 1e. Publication 550 says a covered security is generally one you acquired after 2010, with some exceptions. The Instructions for Form 8949 explain those exceptions.
Box 1g can show a wash sale loss that is not allowed this year. Publication 550 explains when that applies. Our guide to the wash sale rule explains how the rule works.
How the form goes on Form 8949
Publication 550 says to use the Form 1099-B you received to complete Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets. Report the proceeds from box 1d in column (d). Enter the basis from box 1e in column (e). Our guide to the check boxes and columns on Form 8949 goes through each column.
Selling costs that the broker did not already subtract, such as a commission, go in column (g). If you enter a selling expense in column (g), enter "E" in column (f). Publication 550 gives an example with a $100 commission on a sale that the broker reported at $10,000.
Publication 550 says sales are reported in Part I of Form 8949 for short-term transactions and in Part II for long-term transactions. Use the part that applies to each sale. Each sale has its own row or rows, so one Form 1099-B can lead to many lines.
When the basis is missing or wrong
If no basis is shown on the form, enter the correct basis yourself. If the basis on the form is not correct, Publication 550 says to use the table for columns (f) and (g) in the Instructions for Form 8949. That table shows the adjustment you must make.
Publication 550 also explains the average basis method. You can elect it for covered securities, such as shares of identical stock in one account. To make the election, you must send written notice to the custodian or agent who keeps the account, and you must also notify your broker. The election applies to sales after you give notice.
Report sales even without a form
Publication 550 says to include a sale even if you did not receive a Form 1099-B for it. Keep your own records of each trade, such as trade confirmations and account statements.
Our guide to stock and crypto sales on your return covers the sale side in more detail. Our guide to the capital loss limit and carryover covers what happens when your losses are larger than the limit.
Simple steps
- Check that you received a Form 1099-B for each broker account you used.
- Compare the proceeds, basis, and dates with your own trade records.
- Enter the amounts on Form 8949, in the columns the instructions name.
- Report any sale you have no form for, too.
Upload your documents and answer a few simple questions. Your preparer reviews every deduction and credit and lets you know when your return is ready to sign.
Sources: Sources: IRS, Publication 550 (2025), Investment Income and Expenses (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p550.pdf); Instructions for Form 8949 (2025) (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8949.pdf) This is general information, not advice about your specific return.
