Form 1099-B reports broker and barter-exchange transactions that feed capital-gain and basis reporting.
Form 1099-B reports broker and barter-exchange transactions that feed capital-gain and basis reporting. In plain language, it is the year-end broker form that gives taxpayers the sale information they use for Form 8949 and Schedule D.
Form 1099-B matters because taxpayers who sell stock or other capital assets often start with the broker statement rather than with the return itself. The form helps move those sale records into the federal capital-gain workflow.
It also matters because capital reporting is not just about sale proceeds. Basis reporting, holding period, and adjustments can still affect what ultimately appears on the return.
Form 1099-B appears after a broker reports sales and other transactions for the year. The taxpayer uses the information, along with basis records and adjustments, when completing Form 8949 and then summarizing the totals on Schedule D for the annual return.
A taxpayer sells several securities in a brokerage account and receives Form 1099-B after year end. The taxpayer uses that form to identify proceeds, basis reporting information, and the transactions that need to be listed on Form 8949.
Form 1099-B is not the same as Form 8949. Form 1099-B is the broker’s information return, while Form 8949 is the taxpayer’s filing form.
It is also different from Form 1099-DIV, which reports dividend income rather than sale transactions.