1099 Reporting

Year End Reports

Account Transfers

1099 Reporting 

Statement and Year End Reporting for US persons and entities comprises the following:

1.  Cost Basis:  While the required reporting schedule was staggered, the primary cost basis that will be reported to the IRS includes equities bought and sold after December 31, 2010.  This includes the adjusted cost basis resulting from wash sales and corporate actions.

The future phase-in period for broker reporting includes the assets sold on or after the following dates:

--- Mutual Funds and  ETFS - 1/1/2012

--- Simple debt instruments (i.e. treasuries, fixed-rate bonds & municipal bonds) and options,  - 1/1/2014

--- Other debt instruments - 1/1/2016

2.  Tax Basis Method:  Brokers are required to use the method first in, first out (FIFO), unless given other instructions by an investor.  Changes to your tax basis method may be submitted through the Tax Optimizer.  The Tax Optimizer is launched from within Account Management and is available for stock, option, bond, warrant and single-stock future trades.  

IB offers multiple  tax basis methods, including three basic options:

●        First In, First Out (FIFO) - This is the default option.  FIFO assumes that the oldest security in inventory is matched to the most recently sold security.

●         Last In, First Out (LIFO) - LIFO assumes that the newest security acquired is sold first.

●         Specific Lot - Lets you see all of your tax lots and closing trades, then manually match lots to trades. Specific Lot is not available as the Account Default Match Method.

Tax Optimizer also lets you select the following additional derivatives of the specific identification method.

●        Highest Cost (HC), Maximize Long-Term Gain (MLTG), Maximize Long-Term Loss (MLTG), Maximize Short-Term Gain (MSTG), and Maximize Short-Term Loss(MSTL).

For complete instructions on using the Tax Optimizer and details on the lot-matching algorithms for each method, see the Tax Optimizer Users Guide.

Note:  Changing your tax basis is effective immediately.  The basis selected will be applied to all subsequent trades on the account statements and tax reports.  Updates will not affect previously closed trades nor the TWS profit and loss data displayed.

3.  Gain & Loss Categories:  An additional requirement to the cost basis reporting is the capital gain or loss category.  The gain or loss category of equities is determined by the length of time in which the security was held, known as the "holding period." 

●         Short-Term - Holding periods of one year or less are categorized as "short-term."

●         Long-Term  - Holding periods over one year are categorized as "long-term."

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Year End Reports

The following statements and reports display cost basis information that will be reported on Form 1099-B for eligible accounts.

• Monthly Account Statements
• Annual Account Statements 
• Worksheet for Form 8949

For a complete review of the tax information and year end reporting available, click here.

Note:  Unlike the Account Statements, the Gain & Loss Worksheet for Form 8949 may consolidate sell trades.  The cost basis will be adjusted, as required for 1099-B reporting.

Asset Transfers

U.S. legislation from 2008 included new guidelines for tax reporting by U.S. financial institutions.  Effective January 2011, U.S.  Brokers are required to report cost basis on sold assets, whether or not a gain/loss is short-term (held one year or less) or long-term (held more than one year).   U.S. brokerage firms, Interactive Brokers LLC (IB) included, implemented changes to comply with the legislation.

For more information on cost basis with asset transfers, see Cost Basis & Asset Transfers.

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Disclaimer:  IB does not provide tax advice. These statements are provided for information purposes only, are not intended to constitute tax advice which may be relied upon to avoid penalties under any international, federal, state, local or other tax statutes or regulations, and do not resolve any tax issues in your favor. We recommend that you consult a qualified tax adviser or refer to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

^{Important Note:  The Worksheet has been prepared using IRS guidelines for information purposes only.  It is not intended to replace any official IRS tax forms or schedules; and should not be regarded as an IRS Form Schedule D.}

Interactive Broker's 2009 Gain/Loss Summary Worksheet ("Worksheet") provides the capital gains and losses for your account's year-end review.  Investors of a limited number of securities will find the pairing of 2009 sell trades useful.  Designed to aid with your year end reconciliation, the following securities and trades are included: Bonds, Equity Options, Fractional Shares, Index Futures^*, Mutual Funds, Short Sale, T-Bills, Tender Offers, and WHIFITs.

A general explanation of the Worksheet is organized below by Parts, Columns, and Totals.

 ^{*Only cash-settled}

Worksheet Parts

The Worksheet is divided into two parts.  The period in which you held the position determines whether or not Short-Term or Long-Term applies. 

Part 1 - Short Term Capital Gains and Losses - Assets Held One Year or Less

Part 2 - Long Term Capital Gains and Losses - Assets Held More Than One Year

Worksheet Columns

Each section contains the following seven columns to identify your trades.

1.  (a) Description of property...shows the security symbol, name, quantity, and other information to identify the asset sold.

Example:  500 sh. DB - DEUTSCHE BANK AG-REGISTERED

2.  (b) Date acquired...shows the trade date of your security's purchase. 

^{Asset Transfers:  IB has entered the date supplied by you through Position Transfer Basis.  If an update was not received by year-end, then the asset transfer settlement date appears. See your monthly or annual summary for details.} 

^{Short Sales:  The box is left blank if the closing trade has not been completed.  For short sales included on a prior year Worksheet or 1099-B, the code ADJ is entered.}

3.  (c) Date sold...shows the trade date of your security's sale.

4.  (d) Sales price...shows the gross security sale price, net of commissions. 

^{Option Adjustments:  For exercised call options, the writer's sale proceeds have been increased by the amount received for the call. For exercised put options, the holder's sale proceeds have been reduced by the cost of the put. See IRS Pub. 550, page 57, for details.  For expired options, an amount of 0.00 is entered, followed by the Code "Ep".}

5.  (e) Cost or other basis...shows the total price paid for your security, plus commissions.

^{Corporate Actions:  Adjustments have not been made for any stock splits or non-dividend distributions. See IRS Pub. 550, page 44, for details.}

^{Mutual Funds:  IB does not use an average basis for mutual funds. The First In, First Out (FIFO) method is used.}

^{Original Issue Discount:  The basis has not been increased by the amount of OID included in your income. See IRS Pub. 550, page 13, for details.}

^{Option Adjustments: For exercised put options, the writer's basis has been increased by the amount received for the put.  For exercised call options, the holder's basis has been increased by the cost of the call. See IRS Pub. 550, page 57, for details.}

6.  (f) Gain or (loss)...shows the calculation for each security using the tax execution methods First-In, First Out (FIFO), Last In, First Out (LIFO), or Maximize Losses (ML). 

^{Loss: Negative amounts are identified in parentheses.  For example, a loss of $2,000.00 displays as (2,000.00).}

^{Tax Method:  If no code appears in the Codes column, then FIFO applies.  The other methods are noted by either LI = LIFO or ML = Maximize Losses.}

7.  Codes...shows various trade designations, such as: corporate actions, asset transfers, or option assignments.

^{Codes and Meanings Table:  The last page of the Worksheet contains a table to identify each non-security symbol used.}

Worksheet Totals

1. Subtotal adjustment from option assignment...shows the total amount of all sale proceeds increases or decreases made from option assignments to the assigned stock sale proceeds (see Cost or other basis details above). 

^{The adjustments, in accordance with IRS guidelines, are added or subtracted in order for the next Subtotal line to equal the amount reported by IB on the 1099-B, box 2.  Please keep in mind that IB does not report any option proceeds or adjustments to sales proceeds from assignments on the 1099s.}

2.  Subtotal for stocks, bonds and T-bills...shows the total non-adjusted proceeds reported for each trade under column (d) Sales price for stocks, bonds, and T-bills only.  This amount should equal the 1099-B, box 2, amount. 

^{1099-B, box 2:  In general, this 1099 figure should equal the combined Parts 1 & 2 Subtotal for stocks, bonds and T-bills figure.}

3.  Total...shows the combined proceeds for all trades under column (d) Sales price, including option sale proceeds.

^{Total Option Sale Proceeds:  Subtract the Total amount of column (d) from the Subtotal for stocks, bonds and T-bills of column (d) to obtain the total proceeds from all option sales.}

Click here to go back to the main 2009 Worksheet article.

Note:  Securities classified by the IRS as IRC Section 1256 contracts are included on the Gain/Loss Worksheet for 1256 Contracts.

IRS Circular 230 Notice: These statements are provided for information purposes only, are not intended to constitute tax advice which may be relied upon to avoid penalties under any federal, state, local or other tax statutes or regulations, and do not resolve any tax issues in your favor.

^{IMPORTANT NOTE: This article has been customized for use by individual US taxpayers investing in securities for information purposes only.  Persons are encouraged to consult a qualified tax professional with the preparation of tax returns.  IB does not provide tax advice.  Traders or dealers in securities, for whom other tax treatment applies, may find the worksheet helpful.  The methodology used to determine the yearly gain or loss, however, differs.  Traders electing the mark-to-market accounting method may consult IRS Instructions for Form 4797, page 2.}

The 2009 Gain/Loss Summary Worksheet calculates the gain or loss for your securities bought and sold from January 1 through December 31 utilizing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines.  Every sell trade executed appears, including short sells, on a trade-date basis.  Not all securities, however, are eligible for inclusion.  For additional information, see the following article categories.

Below we have categorized information about this year's "Worksheet" within the IB Knowledge Base.  Each article provides more details to assist with your understanding of this tool.

• Select What's New for the 2009 Gain/Loss Summary Worksheet for a brief overview of new additions.
• Select 2009 Gain/Loss Summary Worksheet, General Explanation, for details on the columns and fields of the “Worksheet.” 
• Select 2009 Gain/Loss Summary Worksheet, Considerations, for details about limitations and adjustments on the “Worksheet.”
• Select Tax Information and Reporting page, then click the Reports and Dates tab for the year-end tax form and worksheet calendar. 
• Select IRS Publication 550 for a comprehensive explanation of the IRS guidelines for determining your gain/loss.
  

IRS Circular 230 Notice: These statements are provided for information purposes only, are not intended to constitute tax advice which may be relied upon to avoid penalties under any federal, state, local or other tax statutes or regulations, and do not resolve any tax issues in your favor.