What is Form 1099-DIV? Reporting Dividends & Investment Income
What is Form 1099-DIV?
Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions is a tax document that reports dividends and other distributions from investments. Many brokerage firms issue a "Consolidated 1099" statement that includes all your 1099 forms (including 1099-DIV, 1099-B for proceeds from broker and barter exchange transactions, etc.) in one document.
You may receive multiple 1099-DIV forms if you have investments with different financial institutions.
Corporations that file Form 1120 will send a Form 1099-DIV any time Dividends are paid out.
Key Boxes on Form 1099-DIV: What They Mean
- Box 1a – Total Ordinary Dividends
The total amount of dividends you received during the year. All of this goes on your tax return.
- Box 1b – Qualified Dividends
A portion of Box 1a that qualifies for lower, long-term capital gains tax rates (if certain conditions are met).
- Box 2a – Total Capital Gain Distributions
These are gains the investment fund passed on to you—usually from selling stocks at a profit.
- Box 2b – Unrecaptured Section 1250 Gain
A special kind of capital gain, often from real estate investments, taxed at a max of 25%.
- Box 2c – Section 1202 Gain
Gain from qualified small business stock sales—rare, but can be 50%–100% excluded from tax.
- Box 2d – Collectibles (28%) Gain
Gains from things like art, coins, or antiques—taxed at a higher 28% rate.
- Box 3 – Nondividend Distributions
A return of your original investment (basis); not taxable, but it lowers your cost basis.
- Box 4 – Federal Income Tax Withheld
If any federal tax was withheld from your dividends (usually rare), it’s reported here and counts toward your tax payments.
- Box 5 – Section 199A Dividends
Qualified REIT dividends that might be eligible for the 20% qualified business income deduction.
- Box 6 – Investment Expenses (rarely used)
Shows fees related to your investment—usually not deductible for most taxpayers anymore.
- Box 7 – Foreign Tax Paid
TIf you paid foreign tax on dividends from international stocks or funds, it goes here—possibly eligible for a foreign tax credit.
- Box 8 – Foreign Country or U.S. Possession
Tells you which country the foreign taxes in Box 7 were paid to.
- Box 9 – Cash Liquidation Distributions
Money you received when a company was partially or fully liquidated.
- Box 10 – Noncash Liquidation Distributions
Same as Box 9, but in the form of property or stock rather than cash.
- Box 11 – Exempt-Interest Dividends
Tax-free dividends from municipal bond funds—these are entered on return as Tax Exempt Interest.
- Box 12 – Specified Private Activity Bond Interest Dividends
A type of tax-exempt income that could be subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Same as box 11, this will be on return as tax exempt interest.
- Box 13 – State
The state to which state tax ( only entered if any) was withheld.
- Box 14 – State Identification Number
ID number for the state agency receiving the withheld taxes.
- Box 15 – State Tax Withheld
If any state income tax was withheld, it’s reported here.
How to Report Interest Income on Your Tax Return:
Depending if it is qualified dividends or ordinary dividends total amounts will be reported on either line 3a or 3b of Form 1040.
You may be required to include Schedule B, Interest and Dividends if you have any of the following: (this list is complete and will include both interest and dividends that require Schedule B:
- Any return that has more than $1,500 of taxable interest income is required to complete Schedule B Interest and Ordinary Dividends.
- You received interest from a seller-financed mortgage and the buyer used the property as a personal residence.
- You have accrued interest from a bond.
- You are reporting original issue discount (OID) in an amount less than the amount shown on Form 1099-OID.
- You are reducing your interest income on a bond by the amount of amortizable bond premium.
- You are claiming the exclusion of interest from series EE or I U.S. savings bonds issued after 1989.
- You received interest or ordinary dividends as a nominee.
- You had a financial interest in, or signature authority over, a financial account in a foreign country or you received a distribution from, or were a grantor of, or transferor to, a foreign trust. Part III of the schedule has questions about foreign accounts and trusts.
FileYourTaxes.com will automatically attach Schedule B to the tax return if required. Making it seamless and simple.
