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Updated March 04, 2024

IRS Form 1099-DIV (Dividends and Distributions) is a tax form documenting dividends or earnings from investments worth more than $10. The form is also used to report earnings of $600 or more from the sale of liquidated assets. Brokerage firms send 1099-DIV forms to investors, who are required to report the information contained on their annual income tax returns.

Common Uses

Form 1099-DIV is commonly used to report:

Dividends
Capital gains
Collectibles gains
Cash or non-cash liquidation distributions

Who Uses a 1099-DIV?
Deadlines
1099-DIV vs. 1099-R vs. 1099-INT
1099-DIV Form Parts (26)
Instructions for Filers (6)
FAQs
Sources

Who Uses a 1099-DIV?

Banks, brokerage firms, and other financial institutions send Form 1099-DIV to taxpayers who earned dividends on their investments the previous year. Copies are also filed with the IRS.

Recipients of 1099-DIV forms use the information they contain to complete their annual income tax returns.

Deadlines

Form 1099-DIV must be sent to taxpayers by January 31. The form must be filed on paper with the IRS by March 1, and by March 31 if e-filed.

1099-DIV vs. 1099-R vs. 1099-INT

Form 1099-DIV is used to report dividends made on investments. There are a few other forms with which it gets easily confused, most notably Form 1099-R, which reports dividends from life insurance contracts and employee stock ownership plans, and Form 1099-INT, which reports earnings from interest, including interest issued by credit unions and mutual savings banks.

1099-DIV: Used to report dividends made on investments in stocks or mutual funds.
1099-R: Used to report distributions from retirement benefits such as pensions and annuities.
1099-INT: Used to report interest earned on accounts or securities.

1099-DIV Form Parts (26)

The 1099-DIV form can vary across states but generally contains the following parts. Check the IRS instructions for further details about each input box.

1. Payer’s Information

The form asks for information about the payer, including a name, address, ZIP code, and telephone number.

2. Payer’s TIN

This is the payer’s Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), which can be a social security number, individual taxpayer identification number, adoption taxpayer identification number, or employer identification number.

3. Recipient’s TIN

Enter the recipient’s TIN.

4. Recipient’s Information

The form also asks for information about the recipient, including a name, address, ZIP code, and telephone number.

5. Account Number

Enter an account number if the recipient is receiving more than one Form 1099-DIV for the tax year, or if the FATCA filing requirement box is checked.

6. 2nd TIN not.

Enter an “X” in this box if the IRS sent two notices within three years that the recipient provided an incorrect TIN.

7. Total Ordinary Dividends

This is the amount of ordinary dividends, which are payments made out of a company’s profits to investors in its stock. Ordinary dividends are taxed as ordinary income.

8. Qualified Dividends

Qualified dividends are taxed as capital gains and thus at a lower rate than ordinary dividends. They must meet certain criteria related to the term of ownership of the asset (typically 60 days for common stock and 90 days for preferred stock) and must be paid by a corporation in the U.S. or certain qualified foreign corporations.^[1]

9. Total Capital Gain Distribution

Enter long-term capital gain distributions, which are proceeds from the sales of stocks and other assets held for more than one year paid in the previous year.

10. Unrecap. Sec 1250 Gain

Enter any amount of the capital gain distributions entered in the previous box that came from the sale of depreciable real property such as commercial buildings, warehouses, barns, and rental properties.^[2]

11. Section 1202 Gain

Enter the amount of capital gain distributions that come under Section 1202, which allows a taxpayer to exclude 100 percent of gains from the sale of certain small business stock held for more than five years.^[3]

12. Collectibles (28%) Gain

Enter any amount of capital gain distributions that qualify for a 28% rate gain from the sale or exchange of collectibles, which include art, rugs, antiques, precious metals or gems, stamps or coins, alcoholic beverages, and more.^[4]

13. Section 897 Ordinary Dividends

Enter any amount of dividends that relate to the sale of what’s known as USRPI, or U.S. real property interest.^[5]

14. Section 897 Capital Gain

Enter any amount of capital gain distributions that relate to the sale of a USRPI.

15. Nondividend Distributions

Report nondividend distributions, which are dividends that are not taxed as income but will affect calculations for cost basis.

16. Federal Income Tax Withheld

Enter payments subject to backup withholding.^[6]

17. Section 199A Dividends

Enter the amount of qualified dividends paid by a real estate investment trust (REIT) or dividends paid by a regulated investment company (RIC) to the recipient. This amount is included in the amount reported in Box 1a.^[7]

18. Investment Expenses

Investment expenses comprise interest paid on money borrowed to make an investment. Enter the total amount of any of these expenses here and be sure to include this in box 1a. Do not include any investment expenses in box 1b.

19. Foreign Tax Paid

Enter foreign tax paid on dividends and other distributions on stock.

20. Foreign Country or U.S. Possession

If foreign tax was paid, enter the name of the foreign country or U.S. possession where it was paid.

21. Cash Liquidation Distributions

Input the amount of cash received as part of a liquidation.

22. Noncash Liquidation Distributions

Input the value of noncash distributions received as part of a liquidation, which is the fair market value as of the date of distribution.

23. FATCA filing requirement

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act requires U.S. citizens to report their holdings in foreign accounts in U.S. dollars. Check the box to recognize holdings in foreign accounts.^[8]

24. Exempt-Interest Dividends

Enter exempt-interest dividends from a mutual fund or other regulated investment company (RIC) that acts as an investment agent for shareholders.

25. Specified Private Activity Bond Interest Dividends

Enter exempt-interest dividends paid by a RIC on specified private activity bonds that is attributable to interest on the bonds received. A “specified private activity bond” means any private activity bond defined in section 141.^[9] These are subject to the alternative minimum tax.

26. Boxes 14-17

If state income taxes were withheld on this payment, report the state, its identification number, and the amount of tax withheld.

Instructions for Filers (6 Steps)

1. Collect W-9

Send Form W-9 to the investor whose dividend earnings are being reported. The purpose of this form is to obtain a taxpayer’s taxpayer identification number.

2. Obtain 1099-DIV

Order 1099-DIV forms from the IRS.

3. Complete 1099-DIV

Complete the form using the instructions outlined above, which simplify the instructions provided by the IRS.

4. Send to Recipient

Send a completed copy 2 of the 1099-DIV to its recipient, who will use the information reported on the form to complete their annual income tax return.

5. Send to the State Tax Department

If a state tax department requires a paper copy of this form, use Copy 1 to provide information to the state tax department.

6. File with IRS

All 1099-DIV forms must be filed with the IRS, either by mail, online via the IRIS eFile program, or through a tax professional.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

I received a 1099-DIV. What do I do?

Use the information that appears on your 1099-DIV to complete Form 1040, or your annual income tax return. If the total dividends for the year being reported exceed $1,500, then you also have to file Schedule B (Form 1040), Interest and Ordinary Dividends.

What if I don’t report the dividends on a 1099-DIV on my tax return?

Any Form 1099-DIV you receive contains your taxpayer identification number, meaning the IRS will know about a discrepancy between any 1099-DIV issued to you and what gets reported in your tax return. To avoid paying penalties and interest, make sure the numbers match.

Should I issue a 1099-DIV for dividends from retirement accounts?

Form 1099-DIV should not be issued to report individual retirement accounts (IRAs), money purchase pension plans, profit-sharing plans, and other retirement accounts. Those should be reported on Form 1099-R.

Sources

IRS Form 1099-DIV

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