1099-B Reporting Requirements: Who Must File, Rules, Deadlines

Although a broker or barter exchange may report several types of transactions in one year, not every sale or exchange is reportable on Form 1099-B, and the required details may vary by transaction type. So, it is important to review the transactions before filing.

This guide explains Form 1099-B reporting requirements and the types of information it covers. You’ll also read about what transactions are reportable and who must file the form.

What Is Form 1099-B, and Why Does It Matter?

The IRS information return used by brokers and barter exchanges to report sales, exchanges, and some other types of transactions to the recipient and to the IRS is Form 1099-B.

It is important because the IRS uses the form to compare proceeds, basis, and other transaction details against what taxpayers report on their tax returns, including Form 8949 and Schedule D when applicable. When those details are wrong, corrections and IRS mismatch notices can follow.

Who Must File Form 1099-B?

Form 1099-B filing requirements apply broadly. Brokers and barter exchanges generally must file the form for each customer whose transactions involved sales for cash of any of these things:

stocks
commodities
regulated futures contracts
foreign currency contracts
forward contracts
debt instruments
options
securities futures contracts
similar property

The form is also used when a person receives cash, stock, or other property from certain reportable corporate changes, or exchanges property or services through a barter exchange. These generally include brokers and barter exchanges.

In some situations, reporting also applies to reportable corporate changes and dispositions of qualified opportunity fund interests. The basic rule to keep in mind is as follows: the broker or barter exchange that handles the reportable transaction is usually the filer.

What Transactions Are Reportable on Form 1099-B?

To reiterate, Form 1099-B covers more than stock sales. Reportable transactions may include sales or redemptions of securities, commodities, regulated futures contracts, certain foreign currency contracts, forward contracts, debt instruments, options, securities futures contracts, or barter exchange transactions.

Certain reportable corporate changes and dispositions of qualified opportunity fund interests can also trigger reporting requirements.

Note: For sales of digital assets after 2025, brokers generally use Form 1099-DA, not Form 1099-B, except in limited cases such as certain section 1256 contracts. That means using Form 1099-B for digital asset sales after 2025 can be a filing error in many cases.

Covered vs. Noncovered Securities

The main difference between covered and noncovered securities affects basis reporting. Covered securities are securities for which the broker is required to report cost basis to the IRS, while noncovered securities may still be reported on Form 1099-B, but brokers generally do not have to report basis to the IRS.

In some cases, basis may be shown to the recipient but not reported to the IRS. This changes three things, namely:

How much information the broker must report
What basis information the IRS receives
How easily the transaction can be matched later

The IRS instructions also state that separate Forms 1099-B may be required when covered short-term, covered long-term, and noncovered securities are sold in a single transaction.

What Must Be Reported on Form 1099-B

For covered securities, brokers generally report the core transaction data listed below. For noncovered securities, reporting may be more limited.

Data Element	Reporting Detail
Description of security	Identifies the asset sold or exchanged
Acquisition date	Shows when the security was acquired
Sale date	Shows when the transaction occurred
Gross proceeds	Reports the total proceeds of the sale or exchange
Cost basis	Used to calculate gain or loss
Character of gain or loss	Indicates short-term or long-term treatment
Wash sale loss disallowed	Reflects required wash sale reporting
Accrued market discount	Included when applicable

The IRS instructions also tie basis reporting to Form 8949 checkboxes and Form 1099-B box treatment. For example, Form 8949 box A or D generally means the basis is being reported to the IRS, while box B or E means it is not. Box 12 is checked when the basis is reported to the IRS. These 1099-B basis reporting rules are one reason that covered and noncovered classification must be reviewed before filing.

Form 1099-B Deadlines and Filing Requirements

The Form 1099-B due date follows a special schedule.

Under current IRS instructions, recipient statements are due by February 15, if February 15 is a business day. The IRS copy is generally due by February 28 if filed on paper, or March 31 if filed electronically.

For 2026 returns filed in 2027, the recipient statement deadline moves to February 16, 2027, because February 15 is Washington’s Birthday, a legal holiday.

The paper filing deadline moves to March 1, 2027, because February 28 falls on a Sunday.

However, the electronic filing deadline remains March 31, 2027.

When a filing or furnishing deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the due date moves to the next business day.

Electronic filing is generally required when a filer has 10 or more information returns in total across all return types. For tax year 2026 and filing season 2027, IRIS will be the IRS intake system for these information returns after FIRE is retired.

Common Exceptions to Form 1099-B Reporting

1099-B reporting requirements are not too complicated to follow. But it’s important to keep in mind that not every transaction has to be reported. The IRS instructions list some important exceptions. These include:

certain sales for exempt recipients,
exchanges through a barter exchange with fewer than 100 transactions during the year,
barter exchanges involving exempt foreign persons,
barter exchange transactions involving property or services valued below $1,
and fractional stock share sales with gross proceeds under $20.

These exceptions matter because they help filers avoid unnecessary returns and reduce extra work. They also show why a filing review should happen before bulk submission, not after.

Common Filing Errors and How to Avoid Them

Common filing issue	How to avoid it
Misclassifying covered and noncovered securities	Review whether basis must be reported to the IRS before filing.
Missing or incomplete basis details	Check acquisition date, cost basis, and related basis fields before submission.
Incorrect short-term or long-term classification	Confirm the holding period before selecting the transaction classification.
Missing wash sale loss disallowed	Wash sale rules need to be reviewed and the disallowed loss reported when required.
Incorrect transaction classification	Confirm whether the transaction is reportable on Form 1099-B before filing.
Inconsistent or missing transaction details	Review the form for missing dates, proceeds, basis, and checkbox details.

To follow Form 1099-B instructions accurately, you can follow a clean process that more or less follows the same sequence each year: collect transaction data, identify reportable transactions, classify them correctly, determine covered or noncovered status, populate the required fields, review for missing or inconsistent details, then file with the IRS and furnish recipient copies.

How Tax1099 Helps Simplify 1099-B Filing

Form 1099-B filing can involve many moving parts, especially when a filer has a large number of transactions to report. Each transaction may need to be reviewed for the type of sale or exchange, whether the security is covered or noncovered, whether basis must be reported, and which fields must be completed before filing.

Tax1099 helps make the entire process much more manageable by supporting bulk imports, data checks, TIN matching, USPS address validation, eFiling, scheduling, and organized recordkeeping for 1099 forms. This is useful for filers who need to handle multiple Forms 1099-B without relying only on manual entry.

Instead of preparing each return one by one, filers can upload larger sets of transaction data, review key details, and map the information to the right reporting fields. Built-in checks can also help catch missing or inconsistent information before submission.

Tax1099 also helps with the steps that come after preparation. For instance:

Filers can eFile Forms 1099 with the IRS
Schedule filing activity
Maintain filing records
Keep information organized for corrections or later review

All of these factors can significantly reduce manual work, improve consistency and accuracy, and make the overall filing process smoother.

Real-Life Form 1099-B Scenarios

Scenario	Reporting result
A customer sells stock through a broker	The broker generally files Form 1099-B to report the customer’s stock sale.
The transaction involves a covered security	The broker generally reports both the sale proceeds and cost basis to the IRS because basis reporting applies to covered securities.
The transaction involves a noncovered security	The broker may still report the proceeds, but generally does not have to report basis to the IRS.
A barter exchange handles a taxable trade	Form 1099-B may be required when the exchange facilitates a taxable trade of property or services.
The recipient statement is furnished late	Penalties may apply even if the IRS copy is filed on time or filed later, because recipient statements have their own deadline.

FAQs

1. Who must file Form 1099-B?

Brokers and barter exchanges that are responsible for reportable transactions are typically required to file Form 1099-B.

2. Do transactions with a loss still have to be reported?

Yes. A transaction can still be reportable even if it results in a loss.

3. What is “basis reported to the IRS?”

It means the broker reported the cost or other basis to the IRS, which is generally required for covered securities.

4. When are Form 1099-B filings due?

For 2026 Form 1099-B, recipient statements are due February 16, 2027; paper IRS filing is due March 1, 2027; and electronic IRS filing is due March 31, 2027.

5. Is there a minimum reporting threshold?

In most cases, no. One exception is that brokers do not have to report sales of fractional shares of stock if gross proceeds are less than $20.

6. Can multiple transactions be combined in one form?

Usually, transactions are reported one by one. However, certain regulated futures contracts, foreign currency contracts, and section 1256 option contracts can be reported together on an aggregate basis.

File Form 1099-B with Tax1099 and make IRS reporting easier with data checks, bulk workflows, and organized records.

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1099-B Reporting Requirements: Who Must File, Rules, and Deadlines