PLANNING

Know Your Tax Forms

When it comes to taxes, being informed can help you plan and prepare. Tax forms are used to report certain transactions to the IRS.

To learn more about what situations cause tax forms to be produced and what to expect, read Understanding Mutual Funds & Taxes and Tax FAQs.

Tax form mailing schedule

For U.S. investors, most tax forms are mailed by January 31 and are available online. Please sign up for E-delivery of your tax forms to receive immediate notification of when forms are available online.

Form	Type of Account	What It Reports	Mailed On or Before
1099-DIV	Taxable non-retirement	Dividends and capital gains distributions	31-Jan
1099-B	Taxable non-retirement	Proceeds from a sale or exchange	31-Jan
1099-Q	Coverdell ESA	Distributions, transfers or rollovers	31-Jan
1099-R	IRA or Retirement	Distributions, rollovers, recharacterizations and excess contributions	31-Jan
1042-S	Taxable accounts with a non-resident alien or foreign entity owner	Dividends and capital gains for taxable accounts. Distributions from retirement accounts.	March 15 (Not available online)
5498-ESA	Coverdell ESA	Contributions, transfers or rollovers to account	30-Apr
5498	IRA or Retirement	Contributions, rollovers, conversions and recharacterizations to an account	31-May

Taxable accounts

Form 1099-DIV

What does it report?

Form 1099-DIV reports dividends (ordinary and qualified) and capital gains from taxable accounts if the amount is $10 or more, regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested.

Each distribution type will be listed separately. This information can then be used to identify how you will be taxed. Ordinary dividends are generally taxed at your ordinary income tax rate. Qualified dividends and capital gains may be taxed at the long-term capital gains rate, which is typically lower than the ordinary income rate. Foreign taxes paid, which could also be used as a deduction or credit, will be listed separately.

What else should I know?

This form is generated when an account has $10 or more in taxable distributions, if the fund paid foreign taxes (refer to box 6), or if backup withholding (required IRS withholding) is taken. If backup withholding is taken, or if the fund paid foreign taxes, and the total amounts of the capital gains and dividends are less than $10, a Form 1099-DIV will still be generated.

You won’t receive Form 1099-DIV for tax-deferred accounts. Forms 1099-DIV are available online or postmarked annually by January 31.

Form 1099-B

What does it report?

Form 1099-B reports net proceeds from the sale and exchange of mutual fund shares or stocks in taxable accounts.

These proceeds are categorized by short-term gains, long-term gains or losses. Short-term gains are generally taxed at your ordinary income rate and long-term gains at the long-term capital gains rate which is typically lower than the ordinary income tax rate. If you experience a loss, you may be able to claim a tax deduction.

What else should I know?

This form may report cost basis, gains and losses and other information to report the sale or exchange of shares. If your cost basis is not reported on this form, it is recommended you provide it to the IRS. Otherwise, the IRS may assume your cost basis is $0, thus the gross proceeds may become erroneously taxable.

Form 1099-B doesn’t apply to tax-deferred accounts or money market funds. Form 1099-B is available online or postmarked annually by January 31.

Non-taxable accounts

Form 1099-Q

What does it report?

Form 1099-Q reports distributions (withdrawals), return of excess contributions and earnings from your Coverdell Education Savings Account (CESA). It includes rollover amounts, trustee-to-trustee transfers between CESAs and transfers between students, if applicable. It also includes the account’s year-end fair market value.

Compare gross distribution amounts reported on Form 1099-Q to the amount spent on qualified education expenses during the year to determine if any portion of the distribution is taxable.

Distributions are generally tax free if they are not more than the student’s adjusted qualified education expenses for the year (refer to IRS Publication 970 for details). It is recommended to speak with a tax professional if you have questions regarding taxation or to confirm if certain expenses are qualified.

What else should I know?

This form reports annual distributions or transfers from your CESA so you won’t receive one if you did not transfer or receive any distributions.

1099-Q forms are available online or postmarked annually by January 31.

Form 1099-R

What does it report?

Form 1099-R reports distributions (withdrawals) from your IRAs and retirement plans, including conversions, recharacterizations and return of excess contributions.

These distributions may be taxable, even if Box 2A (taxable amount) is blank. You may also need to attach copies to your state and federal returns if you withheld any taxes. Any taxable amounts may be subject to an additional 10% early withdrawal penalty if under age 59½.

What else should I know?

Any federal or state taxes withheld during the year are also reported on this form. One form is generated per transaction, so it is possible to receive more than one. If you performed an IRA transfer of assets, or you didn’t take a withdrawal, you won’t receive this form. The 1099-R forms are available online or postmarked annually by January 31.

Form 1042-S

What does it report?

Form 1042-S reports taxable (dividend and capital gains) distributions and withholdings, regardless of the amount, for foreign entities and Non-Resident Aliens who own taxable accounts. It also reports income tax withheld, gross income paid, the tax treaty rate on dividends and any U.S. federal tax withholding for various types of accounts.

What else should I know?

If Non-Resident Alien investors do not certify their foreign status every three years or if they move to another country without recertifying their foreign tax status, federal backup withholding will be imposed on the account. This form is postmarked annually by March 15 and is not available online.

Form 5498-ESA

What does it report?

Form 5498-ESA reports contributions, rollovers and transfers of assets for a Coverdell Education Savings Account (CESA).

Transfers include moving assets to a new financial institution, transfer in-kind of the same investment to another financial institution and transfer due to a re-registration of the student to another eligible family member.

What else should I know?

If you didn’t transfer or contribute to a CESA, you won’t receive Form 5498-ESA. This form is available online or postmarked annually by April 30.

Form 5498

What does it report?

Form 5498 reports IRA contributions, rollovers, conversions and recharacterizations and may also be used for reporting the year-end fair market value.

Annual contributions made to an IRA prior to the tax filing deadline will be included on Form 5498 and mailed by May 31. Although you may not have received the tax form for an annual contribution to an IRA, it is still a requirement to file by your tax filing due date, plus extensions.

Form 5498 doesn’t provide a breakdown of after-tax contributions. Therefore, you may want to track non-deductible contributions by filing Form 8606. Otherwise, the IRS may consider all your distributions as being taxable.

What else should I know?

If you transferred assets between financial institutions, this won’t be reported on Form 5498. This form may also include a required minimum distribution (RMD) reminder, if applicable (generally for individuals who have reached age 72), and the end-of-year fair market value of your IRA, which is used to calculate your RMD.

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PLANNING

Know Your Tax Forms

Tax form mailing schedule

Taxable accounts

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