Form 1099-B, Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions, is the information return a broker or barter exchange sends you and the IRS after you sell securities through them or trade goods and services through a barter exchange. As of October 2026, it reports sale proceeds and, for covered securities, your cost basis, and from 2026 most digital asset sales move to the separate Form 1099-DA.
Investors meet it through a brokerage account. If you're a small business owner, you can meet it from the other side too: if you trade services through a barter exchange, the value you receive is reported on a 1099-B, even though no cash changed hands.
Who files Form 1099-B
A broker or barter exchange files one for each person who:
- Sold stocks, commodities, regulated futures, forward contracts, debt instruments, options or similar items through the broker for cash, including short sales.
- Received cash, stock or other property from a corporation that had an acquisition of control or a substantial change in capital structure.
- Exchanged property or services through a barter exchange.
A company that regularly redeems its own stock or regularly issues and retires its own debt counts as a broker too. Someone who manages a farm for someone else doesn't, and nor does a corporation that buys odd-lot shares from its stockholders on an irregular basis.
Barter exchanges: the small business angle
A barter exchange is any organization whose members contract with each other, or with the exchange, to trade property or services. Informal swaps of similar services on a noncommercial basis don't count, and people who trade without an exchange don't get a 1099-B, although they may have to file Form 1099-MISC. Box 13 shows the gross amount a member received: cash, the fair market value of property or services, and the value of trade credits or scrip credited to the account. An exchange doesn't have to file for:
- Exchanges through a barter exchange with fewer than 100 transactions in the year.
- Exempt foreign persons.
- Exchanges of property or services worth less than $1.00.
Noncorporate members get a separate form per transaction; corporate members can be reported in aggregate.
Covered and noncovered securities
Whether your broker reports your cost basis depends on whether the security's covered. Covered securities include stock bought for cash in an account after 2010, stock eligible for the average basis method (such as fund shares) bought after 2011, certain debt instruments and options bought after 2013 or 2015, and securities futures contracts entered into after 2013. For these, the broker reports the date acquired, cost basis, accrued market discount, any wash sale loss disallowed, and whether the gain is short or long term. For noncovered securities the broker can tick Box 5 and leave the basis boxes blank, which leaves the basis to you.
Short sales follow their own timing. A short sale entered into after 2010 isn't reported until the year the customer delivers a security to close it, unless there's backup withholding, and the form then shows the quantity, acquisition date and basis of the security delivered.
The IRS example shows why one sale can produce several forms. A customer bought shares in April 2024, April 2025 and August 2025 and sold them all in June 2026. The broker reports the covered 2025 lots on two forms (one long term, one short term) and the noncovered 2024 lot on a third form or on the long term form.
The Form 8949 checkbox codes
| Code | Meaning | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| A | Short term, basis reported to the IRS | Schedule D line 1a, or Form 8949 box A |
| B | Short term, basis not reported | Form 8949 box B |
| D | Long term, basis reported to the IRS | Schedule D line 8a, or Form 8949 box D |
| E | Long term, basis not reported | Form 8949 box E |
| X | Holding period unknown | Recipient decides between box B and box E |
Property sales have their own form, covered in our guide to the real estate sale form.
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Deadlines for Form 1099-B
| Step | Due date for 2025 forms |
|---|---|
| Statement to the recipient | February 17, 2026 |
| File with the IRS on paper | March 2, 2026 |
| File with the IRS electronically | March 31, 2026 |
Brokers can send the 1099-B with other forms on one consolidated substitute statement. Backup withholding shown in Box 4 is reported by the broker on Form 945. If you also receive interest or dividends, see our guides to Form 1099-INT and Form 1099-DIV.
What to do when you receive one
- Match each form to your own records of what you sold and when.
- Check Box 12: if it's ticked, the basis in Box 1e went to the IRS.
- If Box 5 is ticked, the security is noncovered, so find your own purchase records for the basis.
- Look at Box 1g for a wash sale loss the broker has disallowed.
- Report each sale on Form 8949 or directly on Schedule D using the code shown.
- For barter income in Box 13, include the fair market value in income for the year you received it, usually on Schedule C if it came through your business.
The verdict
Form 1099-B's reliable for proceeds and much less so for old purchases, so the Box 5 tick is the one you'll want to look for. If you run a business that trades through a barter exchange, the IRS treats the value you received as income in the year you got it, and it already has a copy of the form.
Sales listed here are reported using the form in our guide to reporting sales of investments.
Frequently asked questions
When is Form 1099-B due?
For 2025 forms, brokers had to furnish statements by February 17, 2026, and file with the IRS by March 2, 2026 on paper or March 31, 2026 electronically.
Do I get a 1099-B for crypto?
From 2026, brokers report digital asset sales on Form 1099-DA instead. A digital asset that's also a security is generally reported on Form 1099-DA, with three exceptions.
What does Box 5 on Form 1099-B mean?
It means the security is noncovered. The broker may leave the acquisition date, basis and gain type blank, so you need your own records.
Is barter income on a 1099-B taxable?
Box 13 reports the gross amount a barter exchange member received, including the fair market value of property, services and trade credits. The IRS says you include the fair market value in gross income for the year you receive it, generally on Schedule C if it relates to your business.
Why did I get several 1099-B forms for one sale?
Brokers must report covered short term, covered long term and noncovered lots on separate forms, even when they were sold in a single transaction.
