To report investments on taxes, most people need somewhere between three and six IRS forms, and the exact stack depends on what you own. The core set is Form 1099-INT, Form 1099-DIV, and Form 1099-B from your brokerage, followed by Schedule B, Form 8949, and Schedule D on your Form 1040. Foreign accounts, futures contracts, cryptocurrency, or high income add more forms on top of those.
The 1099s Your Broker Sends
Before you touch your return, you need the source documents brokerages and banks mail or post online by mid-February. Each 1099 variant handles a different slice of your account activity.
- Form 1099-INT reports interest income from bank accounts, CDs, and bonds. Even small amounts get reported, and the totals feed Form 1040 and, if you cross the threshold, Schedule B.1Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-INT
- Form 1099-DIV reports dividends and capital gain distributions from stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs. It separates ordinary from qualified dividends, which matters because they’re taxed at different rates.2Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions
- Form 1099-B reports proceeds from sales of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other securities, and shows whether the brokerage reported the cost basis to the IRS.
- Form 1099-OID reports original issue discount on bonds bought below face value. When the discount is $10 or more, the issuer sends this form and the income is generally taxed as interest.3Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-OID, Original Issue Discount
- Form 1099-DA reports digital asset transactions. Starting with the 2025 tax year, brokers and exchanges must issue this form for cryptocurrency sales and exchanges.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8949
These forms are informational. You don’t file them with your return, but the numbers on them drive almost everything else you’ll fill out.
Schedule K-1 for Partnerships, S Corps, and Trusts
If you hold an interest in a partnership, S corporation, or trust, you’ll receive a Schedule K-1 reporting your share of that entity’s income, gains, losses, and deductions. A single K-1 can carry interest, dividends, capital gains, and rental income, and each type flows to a different line on your return.
K-1s often arrive late, sometimes not until March or April. That’s one of the most common reasons investment-heavy returns end up on extension.
Schedule B for Interest and Dividends
Schedule B is where you list interest and dividend income from every source. You’re required to file it when your total taxable interest or ordinary dividends exceeded $1,500 for the year.5Internal Revenue Service. About Schedule B (Form 1040), Interest and Ordinary Dividends
Add up every 1099-INT and enter the payer names and amounts in Part I. Do the same for ordinary dividends from your 1099-DIVs in Part II. The totals then transfer to the income section of Form 1040. Below the $1,500 threshold, you skip Schedule B and report the amounts directly on Form 1040.
Two items on Schedule B are worth flagging. Qualified dividends get taxed at long-term capital gains rates rather than ordinary rates, and the qualified portion is calculated separately using the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet or Schedule D. Tax-exempt interest from municipal bonds is reported on Form 1040, line 2a, drawn from Box 8 of your 1099-INT or Box 12 of your 1099-DIV. It’s free from federal income tax but still counts toward modified adjusted gross income.
Form 8949 and Schedule D for Sales
When you sell a stock, bond, mutual fund, or other capital asset, the transaction gets reported in two places. Form 8949 is the detailed transaction log. Each sale is listed individually with the purchase date, sale date, proceeds, and cost basis.6Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets
Each transaction is either short-term (held one year or less) or long-term (held more than one year). The difference matters. Short-term gains are taxed at ordinary income rates, while long-term gains get preferential rates of 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on your income.7Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409, Capital Gains and Losses
Form 8949 also separates covered securities (where your broker reported basis to the IRS) from non-covered securities (where basis tracking is on you). Covered generally means stocks acquired after 2011, mutual fund shares after 2012, and most bonds after 2014.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-B
The totals from Form 8949 carry over to Schedule D, which nets short-term gains against short-term losses, long-term gains against long-term losses, and then combines the two. A net short-term loss can offset a net long-term gain, and vice versa.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8949 – Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets The final number lands on Form 1040, line 7a.10Internal Revenue Service. Schedule D (Form 1040) – Capital Gains and Losses
If your losses exceed your gains, you can use up to $3,000 of net loss ($1,500 if married filing separately) against ordinary income like wages or interest.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 1211 – Limitation on Capital Losses Anything above that cap carries forward indefinitely, keeps its short-term or long-term character, and shows up again on next year’s Schedule D.7Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409, Capital Gains and Losses
Form 6781 for Futures and Section 1256 Contracts
Regulated futures contracts, foreign currency contracts, and certain options on broad-based indexes follow special rules under Section 1256. All gains and losses on these contracts are treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term, regardless of holding period. Open positions are marked to market at year-end, meaning they’re treated as if you sold them on December 31 even if you didn’t.12Internal Revenue Service. Form 6781, Gains and Losses From Section 1256 Contracts and Straddles
You report these on Form 6781, and the resulting short-term and long-term amounts flow into Schedule D.
Digital Assets on Form 8949
The IRS treats cryptocurrency and other digital assets as property, not currency.13Internal Revenue Service. Digital Assets Every sale, exchange, or trade of crypto for goods, services, or another digital asset is a taxable event, reported on Form 8949 and Schedule D the same way stock sales are.
Form 1040 also asks a yes/no question about digital asset activity during the year, and you must answer it whether or not you owe tax. Crypto received through staking or mining is ordinary income at its fair market value when you can sell or transfer it, and it goes on Schedule 1 unless the activity rises to the level of a trade or business, in which case Schedule C applies.
Form 8960 for Net Investment Income Tax
Higher-income investors owe an additional 3.8% tax on net investment income, calculated on Form 8960. The tax applies to the smaller of your net investment income or the amount by which your modified adjusted gross income exceeds the threshold for your filing status:14Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8960
- Single or head of household: $200,000
- Married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse: $250,000
- Married filing separately: $125,000
Net investment income covers interest, dividends, capital gains, rental income, and royalties. Wages and self-employment earnings don’t count. The thresholds aren’t indexed for inflation, so more taxpayers hit them every year. Cross a threshold by even $1 and you file Form 8960.
Foreign Accounts: Form 8938 and the FBAR
Holding investments in foreign financial accounts creates two separate reporting obligations that operate independently. Missing either one carries steep penalties.
FBAR (FinCEN Form 114)
If the combined value of all your foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year, you must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. Despite the “FBAR” name, it isn’t an IRS form. It’s FinCEN Form 114, filed electronically through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System, entirely separate from your tax return.15Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)16Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. How Do I File the FBAR?
The $10,000 threshold applies to all foreign accounts combined, not each one individually. Checking, savings, brokerage, and accounts where you have only signature authority can all count toward it.
Form 8938 (FATCA)
Form 8938 goes with your tax return under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and covers a broader range of foreign financial assets. For an unmarried taxpayer living in the United States, the filing threshold is $50,000 in specified foreign financial assets on the last day of the year or $75,000 at any point during the year. Higher thresholds apply for joint filers and taxpayers living abroad.17Internal Revenue Service. Do I Need to File Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets?
Form 8938 and the FBAR overlap heavily, and many taxpayers who file one also file the other. They aren’t interchangeable. Different thresholds, slightly different asset categories, different agencies. Filing one does not satisfy the other.
How the Totals Land on Form 1040
Once the individual forms and schedules are done, everything funnels to Form 1040. Taxable interest and ordinary dividends from Schedule B go in the income section. The net capital gain or loss from Schedule D goes on line 7a. Net Investment Income Tax from Form 8960 gets added into the tax calculation. Form 8938 attaches to the return. The FBAR goes to FinCEN on its own track.10Internal Revenue Service. Schedule D (Form 1040) – Capital Gains and Losses
Paper filers attach Form 1040, Schedule B, Schedule D, Form 8949, Form 6781, Form 8960, and Form 8938 in the order the IRS specifies. E-file software handles the assembly. Either way, check that qualified dividends are being taxed at the preferential rate rather than the ordinary rate. That single calculation slip is one of the most common ways investment-heavy filers overpay.