How to Fill Out the Fidelity Transfer Shares as a Gift Form

Fidelity’s Transfer Shares as a Gift form moves stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other DTC-eligible securities out of your nonretirement Fidelity brokerage account and into someone else’s account at another brokerage firm. You fill in your account information, the receiving firm’s details, and the securities you want to give, then sign and submit it. Transfers over $19,000 require a Medallion Signature Guarantee, and Fidelity recommends sending the form in at least two weeks before any deadline.¹ You can download the form at Fidelity.com or pick one up at any Fidelity Investor Center.

When This Is the Right Form

Use this form only when the shares are leaving a nonretirement Fidelity brokerage account and going to a recipient at a different brokerage firm. It does not work for IRAs, 401(k)s, or other retirement accounts, and it is not the form for moving shares between two Fidelity accounts.¹

If both you and the recipient hold Fidelity accounts, use the Transfer Between Existing Fidelity Accounts form instead. It automatically codes the transfer as a gift when the two accounts have different tax identification numbers, and the movement usually takes one to four business days.² For mutual fund shares moving to an outside firm, the receiving firm must participate in the Automated Customer Account Transfer (ACAT) system.¹

What to Gather Before You Start

A missing identifier can stall the transfer for weeks, so pull everything together before you open the PDF.¹

Your Fidelity account number, from your statement or the dashboard.
The receiving firm’s name, address, and Depository Trust Company (DTC) number. The recipient’s brokerage will supply the DTC number. If the receiving account is at Fidelity, Fidelity’s DTC number is 0226.²
The recipient’s account number at the receiving firm and the exact name on that account.
For each security you are gifting: the investment name, its CUSIP or ticker symbol, and the number of shares (or “ALL” for the whole position). If you want to designate specific tax lots, also gather the lot acquisition date and original cost.

Gifting to a person who does not yet have a brokerage account? Fidelity’s guidance is to put the recipient’s full name and address in the Additional Details box in Section 2.²

Filling Out the Form Section by Section

The form runs three sections. Use black ink and capital letters on a printout, or type directly into the PDF.¹

Section 1: Your Fidelity Account

Enter your Fidelity account number and the account owner’s name exactly as it appears on the account. For a trust or business account, use the registered name rather than your personal name.

Section 2: Gifting Instructions

This section covers where the shares are going and which shares are moving. Start with the receiving firm’s name, DTC number, and address. Then enter the recipient’s account number and the “For the Benefit of” name.

Below that, list each security. For every position, fill in the investment name, CUSIP or ticker symbol, and the number of shares. Stocks have to move as whole shares; partial-share amounts are allowed only for mutual funds. To transfer your entire holding in a security, check the “ALL” box instead of writing a share count.¹

Two optional columns capture “Lot Acquisition Date” and “Lot Acquisition Cost.” Filling them in lets you specify which tax lots you are transferring, which helps the recipient track cost basis. Leave them blank and Fidelity applies your account’s default lot disposal method, such as first-in, first-out.¹

If the recipient is a minor, list the custodial UGMA or UTMA account information here, using the custodian’s name and the account number at the receiving firm. Minors generally cannot own a brokerage account outright.³ For a charitable gift, enter the nonprofit’s brokerage account information and DTC number (its investment office can provide these), and note the organization’s name and Employer Identification Number in the Additional Details box.

Section 3: Signature

Sign and date the form. One authorized signature is enough for most brokerage accounts. If your account is a Mutual Fund Account, meaning the number starts with a 2 followed by two letters, every owner must sign.¹

When You Need a Medallion Signature Guarantee

Fidelity requires a Medallion Signature Guarantee whenever the transfer exceeds $19,000. The requirement is waived if you complete and sign the form in person at a Fidelity Investor Center.¹

A Medallion Signature Guarantee is not a notary stamp, and notarization will not satisfy this requirement. The guarantee means the institution stamping the form accepts liability if the signature turns out to be fraudulent.⁴ Most commercial banks, credit unions, and broker-dealers provide the service to their existing customers, usually free of charge. Bring a government-issued photo ID and a recent account statement, and expect to make an appointment.

How to Submit the Form

Fidelity accepts the signed form three ways.

Digital upload, which is fastest: scan or photograph the whole form and any supporting documents, then scan the QR code printed on the form or go to Fidelity.com/upload-Transfer-Gift.¹
Regular mail to Fidelity Investments, Attn: TOA Deliveries, PO Box 770001, Cincinnati, OH 45277-0033.⁵
Overnight or express delivery to Fidelity Investments, Attn: TOA Deliveries, 100 Crosby Parkway KC1B, Covington, KY 41015-4325.⁵

Fidelity does not publish a specific processing window for outbound gift transfers, but the instructions say to submit at least two weeks before any deadline.¹ Year-end gifts deserve extra runway. If you want the transfer to count for the current tax year, do not wait until December. You can track progress in the Activity and Orders section of your Fidelity dashboard.

One practical note for charitable gifts: confirm ahead of time that the nonprofit has a brokerage account able to receive securities. Smaller organizations sometimes lack one, and the transfer will fail if the receiving account does not exist. The development office can give you the exact account details and may have internal paperwork of its own.

Tax Points to Know Before You Send It

The recipient does not get a fresh cost basis at today’s market price. Under federal tax law, the recipient generally takes over your original basis, which is called carryover basis. Shares you bought for $20 that are worth $80 when you gift them still carry a $20 basis in the recipient’s hands, and capital gains tax at sale is calculated from that $20.⁶

One exception matters. If the stock’s fair market value at the time of the gift is lower than your adjusted basis, the recipient uses that fair market value when calculating a loss on a later sale. If they sell at a price between your basis and the gift-date fair market value, there is no gain or loss.⁷

The recipient also inherits your holding period. If you held the shares more than a year before the gift, the recipient qualifies for long-term capital gains rates on a later sale, even if that sale happens the next day. Accurate lot acquisition dates on the form give the recipient the documentation they need at tax time.⁷

Gifted securities count toward federal gift tax rules. For 2026, you can give up to $19,000 per recipient per year with no gift tax filing. Married couples electing gift splitting can give up to $38,000 per recipient.⁸ Cross the annual exclusion and you must file IRS Form 709 with your tax return.⁹ Filing does not necessarily mean you owe tax; the excess counts against your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption, which is over $13 million per person through 2025 and scheduled to decrease after that. The gift’s value for tax purposes is the stock’s fair market value on the transfer date, calculated as the average of the day’s high and low trading prices. Keep that figure for your records.

Two more items worth knowing. If you are gifting appreciated securities to a minor, the kiddie tax can tax the child’s unearned income above a threshold at the parent’s marginal rate, which can erase the savings you expected from moving appreciated stock into a lower-rate account. And if you are donating long-term appreciated stock directly to a qualified public charity, you can generally deduct the full fair market value rather than your cost, and you avoid capital gains tax on the appreciation. The deduction for appreciated capital gain property to a public charity is capped at 30% of your adjusted gross income, with unused amounts carrying forward up to five years.¹⁰

1
Fidelity. Transfer Shares as a Gift – Nonretirement
2
Fidelity Investments. How to Gift Shares Into or Out of Fidelity
3
Fidelity Investments. Custodial Account – Plan For a Child’s Future
4
Securities and Exchange Commission. Medallion Signature Guarantees: Preventing the Unauthorized Transfer of Securities
5
Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Mailing Addresses
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1015 – Basis of Property Acquired by Gifts and Transfers in Trust
7
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 551 – Basis of Assets
8
Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions on Gift Taxes
9
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return
10
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 – Charitable Contributions