Box F on Form 8949 is the checkbox you use for a long-term capital asset sale when you did not receive a Form 1099-B for the transaction. “Long-term” means you held the asset for more than one year before selling. Because no broker reported the sale to the IRS, you are responsible for the proceeds, the cost basis, and the records that back both numbers.
Box F sits at the top of Part II of Form 8949, alongside Boxes D and E. All three handle long-term sales; the difference is what the IRS was told before you filed.
When Box F Is the Right Box
Form 8949 sorts every capital asset sale by holding period and by what your broker reported. The IRS matches your return against that reported data, so picking the wrong box can trigger an automated notice even when the tax you owe is correct.
Within Part II (long-term), the three non-digital-asset boxes work like this:
- Box D: You received a Form 1099-B and it shows your cost basis was reported to the IRS. Typical for securities bought through a brokerage after the covered-security rules took effect.
- Box E: You received a Form 1099-B, but the cost basis was not reported to the IRS. Common for noncovered securities, where the broker reports the sale but has no obligation to report basis.
- Box F: You did not receive a Form 1099-B at all. No broker or intermediary reported the transaction in any form.
The practical line between E and F is whether a 1099-B exists. A 1099-B with a blank basis field is still a 1099-B, and that is Box E. Box F is reserved for sales with no 1099-B whatsoever. Mixing them up creates a mismatch in the IRS’s automated system and can draw a CP2000 notice even when your math is right.
Noncovered Securities Usually Belong on Box E
Noncovered securities are assets you bought before brokers were required to track and report cost basis. The cutoff dates run from January 1, 2011 for individual stocks and certain ETFs through January 1, 2016 for more complex bonds and certain options. When you sell one of these through a brokerage, the broker still files a 1099-B for the proceeds and leaves the basis field blank or marks it unreported. That is Box E, not Box F. Box F only applies when no 1099-B was issued at all.
Crypto Doesn’t Belong on Box F Starting in 2026
Starting with 2026 tax returns, Form 8949 adds six new checkboxes for digital asset transactions: Boxes G, H, and I in Part I (short-term) and Boxes J, K, and L in Part II (long-term). Digital assets like cryptocurrency can no longer be reported on Boxes A through F. Brokers that facilitate digital asset sales now issue Form 1099-DA instead of Form 1099-B. If you sold cryptocurrency you held for more than a year and no 1099-DA was issued, the correct box is L, not F.
Situations That Typically Require Box F
A handful of scenarios account for most Box F filings.
Inherited Property
Selling inherited stocks, real estate, or other assets is the most common Box F situation. When someone dies and leaves you property, the brokerage or transfer agent rarely has the information needed to file a 1099-B for the eventual sale. Under 26 USC 1014, the basis is generally “stepped up” to the fair market value on the decedent’s date of death, replacing whatever the original owner paid.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent Since the broker has no record of that stepped-up value, it typically does not report basis, and in many cases does not file a 1099-B at all.
If the estate’s executor elected the alternative valuation date under 26 USC 2032, basis is set at the fair market value six months after death, or the date the property was sold or distributed if that happened sooner.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 2032 – Alternate Valuation Either way, you need an appraisal, estate valuation report, or brokerage statement from the valuation date to support the basis you report.
Private Sales of Investment Property
Direct sales between individuals with no broker involved produce no 1099-B. Selling shares in a private company to another investor is a Box F transaction if you held the shares more than a year. The same applies to selling investment land or other property directly, as long as the transaction was not reported on a Form 1099-S by a real estate closing agent.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-S
Transfers Between Accounts Without Complete Records
When you move securities between brokers, the receiving broker is supposed to get a transfer statement with your cost basis. Sometimes that statement is incomplete or never arrives, and the new broker treats the asset as having no basis history. If you later sell and no 1099-B is issued, the sale goes on Box F. If a 1099-B is issued without basis, it goes on Box E instead.
Filling Out Part II for a Box F Sale
Check Box F at the top of Part II, then complete eight columns for each transaction.4Internal Revenue Service. Form 8949 – Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets
Column (a), description of property. Be specific. For stocks, give the number of shares and the company name. For real estate, use the property address.
Column (b), date acquired. Enter the date you originally purchased or received the asset. For inherited property, you can enter “Inherited” or the decedent’s date of death.5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8949
Column (c), date sold or disposed of. This date must be more than one year after Column (b) for the sale to qualify as long-term. The IRS counts from the day after acquisition up through the day of sale.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409, Capital Gains and Losses
Column (d), proceeds. The total amount you received. For real estate, this comes from the closing statement. For a private sale, use the contract price.
Column (e), cost or other basis. This is where Box F takes the most work. You calculate the figure yourself from purchase records, appraisals, or estate documents. For inherited property, enter the stepped-up fair market value on the date of death.7Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances For real estate you purchased directly, use the original price plus capital improvements and minus any depreciation you claimed or should have claimed.
Column (f), adjustment code. If the basis needs an adjustment, enter the applicable code. Common codes include “W” for wash sales and “B” for other basis corrections.8Internal Revenue Service. Form 8949 Codes Leave blank if nothing applies.
Column (g), amount of adjustment. The dollar amount tied to the code in Column (f). A positive number increases your gain; a negative number in parentheses decreases it.
Column (h), gain or loss. Subtract Column (e) from Column (d), then add or subtract Column (g). The result flows to Schedule D.
Figuring Out Basis When Records Are Missing
Box F transactions often involve old assets or inherited property where records have gone missing. This is the weakest point in most Box F filings and the spot audits focus on.
For inherited property, start with the estate’s tax records. If a Form 706 estate tax return was filed, it contains appraised values. If none was filed, look for brokerage statements from the date of death showing closing prices, or commission a retroactive appraisal for real estate. Historical stock prices on the date of death are available from financial data services and can serve as evidence of fair market value.
For assets you bought years ago without a broker, hunt for cancelled checks, bank statements, settlement documents, and correspondence from the time of purchase. Keep receipts for capital improvements too, since they increase your basis and reduce your taxable gain.
When exact records are truly unavailable, tax courts have recognized the Cohan rule, which allows taxpayers to rely on reasonable estimates of basis when there is some factual foundation for the estimate. The rule gives less favorable treatment when the lack of records is your own fault, and the IRS can reject estimates that appear to be guesswork. Reconstruct from secondary sources before resorting to estimates.
Where the Totals Go
After completing all Box F entries, total Columns (d), (e), (g), and (h). Those totals transfer to Line 10 of Schedule D (Form 1040).4Internal Revenue Service. Form 8949 – Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets If you also have transactions under Boxes D or E, or any of the new digital asset boxes, each category gets its own copy of Form 8949 and flows to its own line on Schedule D. Form 8949 must be filed with Schedule D as part of your return; e-file software transmits it automatically.
Long-term gains reported through Box F qualify for the preferential long-term rates, which for 2026 are 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on taxable income and filing status.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409, Capital Gains and Losses High-income taxpayers may also owe the 3.8% net investment income tax on top.
What Happens If the Basis Is Wrong
Because Box F transactions have no broker-reported basis for the IRS to cross-check, errors here are more common and harder to catch immediately. They do not go unnoticed forever. Audits of inherited property sales are a routine IRS examination target.
If the IRS finds you underreported a gain by using an inflated basis, you owe the additional tax plus interest. For the second quarter of 2026, the IRS charges 6% annual interest on individual underpayments, compounded daily.9Internal Revenue Service. Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-08 On top of interest, the IRS can impose a 20% accuracy-related penalty on the portion of the underpayment caused by negligence or substantial understatement of income.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6662 – Imposition of Accuracy-Related Penalty on Underpayments Reporting a basis you cannot substantiate lands squarely in that category. The defense is documentation, not estimation.
How Long to Keep the Records
The general three-year rule for tax records does not fit capital assets. The IRS requires you to keep records that support your basis until the period of limitations expires for the year you sell the property.11Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 305, Recordkeeping If you buy an asset in 2005 and sell it in 2026, you need the original purchase documentation through at least 2029, and longer if you underreport income by more than 25%, which stretches the period to six years.12Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records For inherited assets, keep the estate valuation documents, appraisals, and executor correspondence for the same period. Digitize paper where you can. Losing the documentation for a Box F sale means you cannot defend the most important number on the form.