A 1099-B is an informational form used by brokers to report income from brokered or bartered transactions. If you received Form 1099-B at the end of the tax year, you must have played a part in the sale or purchase of a security, which can include stocks, bonds and commodities. To file your income taxes with Form 1099-B, you must determine whether your transaction resulted in a gain or loss and report the income on your income tax return. If the transaction resulted in a gain, the Internal Revenue Service requires you to pay tax on the income.
Step 1
Obtain Form 1040, Form 8949, Schedule D and the corresponding instructions from the IRS website. Because only Form 1040 contains a spot for you to claim income from bartering and sales of stocks and bonds, you can’t use Form 1040-EZ or 1040-A to file your tax return.
Step 2
Indicate whether or not the gain or loss basis was reported to the IRS by checking the appropriate box at the top of Form 8949.
Step 3
Fill in Form 8949 using the information from your 1099-B. Form 8949 contains two sections – one for short-term and one for long-term. Enter a description of the property in Column A and the date of acquisition in Column C, which should be listed in Box 1B on Form 1099-B.
Step 4
Enter the date sold in Column D, located in Box 1a, and the sales price in Column E. Enter the cost or other basis in Column F, which you will find in Box 3 of Form 1099-B. Column B and Column G are rarely used, so refer to the Form 8949 instructions to verify whether you can leave these columns blank.
Step 5
Add the columns on Form 8949 and transfer the amounts to the appropriate line on Schedule D, which is determined by whether the sale or barter was a long-term or short-term capital gain, and whether the basis was reported to the IRS. Form 8949 will guide you to the appropriate line.
Step 6
Complete Schedule D to determine the amount of your gain or loss. Follow the instructions on the form to determine where you should enter this amount on Form 1040. Generally, you will include this number in the line labeled “Capital Gains or Losses,” but you might be required to provide additional information depending on your situation.
Step 7
Complete Form 1040 to determine your tax or amount of your refund.
Step 8
Attach Form 8849 and Schedule D to Form 1040. If you are filing electronically, retain these forms for your records. If you are mailing your return, use the address listed on the 1040 instructions. File your income tax forms by April 15.
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Writer Bio
Angela M. Wheeland specializes in topics related to taxation, technology, gaming and criminal law. She has contributed to several websites and serves as the lead content editor for a construction-related website. Wheeland holds an Associate of Arts in accounting and criminal justice. She has owned and operated her own income tax-preparation business since 2006.