Purpose of Form — 2025 Inst 8949 (PDF)

Use Form 8949 to report sales and exchanges of capital assets. Form 8949 allows you and the IRS to reconcile amounts that were reported to you and the IRS on Form 1099-B, Form 1099-DA, or Form 1099-S (or substitute statements) with the amounts you report on your return. If you receive Form 1099-B, Form 1099-DA, or Form 1099-S (or substitute statements), always report the proceeds (sales price) shown on the form (or statement) in column (d) of Form 8949. If Form 1099-B or Form 1099-DA (or substitute statement) shows that the cost or other basis was reported to the IRS, always report the basis shown on that form (or statement) in column (e). If any correction or adjustment to these amounts is needed, make it in column (g). See How To Complete Form 8949, Columns (f) and (g), later, for details about these adjustments.

If all Forms 1099-B or Forms 1099-DA (or all substitute statements) you received show basis was reported to the IRS and no correction or adjustment is needed, you may not need to file Form 8949. See Exception 1 under the instructions for line 1, later.

If you received Schedule A (Form 8971) for property and Part II, column (f), of Schedule A (Form 8971) indicates that the property increased the estate tax liability, you will be required to report a basis consistent with the final estate tax value of the property reported in Part II, column (h), of the schedule. See Schedule A (Form 8971)—Consistent basis reporting under Column (e)—Cost or Other Basis , later, for more information on consistent basis reporting and the amount you will report on Form 8949.

Individuals. Individuals use Form 8949 to report the following.

The sale or exchange of a capital asset reported on a Form 1099-K, Form 1099-B, or Form 1099-DA.
Gain or loss on the sale or exchange by a nonresident alien individual of an interest in a partnership that is engaged in a U.S. trade or business.
The sale or exchange of a capital asset not reported on another form or schedule.
Gains from involuntary conversions (other than from casualty or theft) of capital assets not used in your trade or business.
Nonbusiness bad debts.
Worthlessness of a security.
The election to defer capital gain invested in a qualified opportunity fund (QOF).
The disposition of interests in QOFs.
To elect out of the installment method. If you are filing a joint return, complete as many copies of Form 8949 as you need to report all of your and your spouse's transactions. You and your spouse may list your transactions on separate forms or you may combine them. However, you must include on your Schedule D the totals from all Forms 8949 for both you and your spouse.

Corporations and partnerships. Corporations and partnerships use Form 8949 to report the following.

The sale or exchange of a capital asset not reported on another form or schedule.
Gain or loss on the sale or exchange by a foreign corporation of an interest in a partnership that is engaged in a U.S. trade or business.
Sale of stock of a specified 10%-owned foreign corporation, adjusted for the dividends-received deduction under section 245A, but only if the sale would otherwise generate a loss.
Nonbusiness bad debts.
Undistributed long-term capital gains from Form 2439.
Worthlessness of a security.
The election to defer capital gain invested in a QOF.
The disposition of interests in QOFs. Corporations also use Form 8949 to report their share of gain (or loss) from a partnership, estate, or trust.

For corporations and partnerships meeting certain criteria, an exception to some of the normal requirements for completing Form 8949 has been provided. See Special provision for certain corporations, partnerships, securities dealers, and other qualified entities under the instructions for line 1, later.

Estates and trusts. Estates and trusts use Form 8949 to report the following.

Gain or loss on the sale or exchange by a foreign trust or estate of an interest in a partnership that is engaged in a U.S. trade or business.

Instructions for Form 8949 (2025) Catalog Number 59421Z Jan 20, 2026 Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov

The sale or exchange of a capital asset not reported on another form or schedule.
Nonbusiness bad debts.
Worthlessness of a security.
The election to defer capital gain invested in a QOF.
The disposition of interests in QOFs.
To elect out of the installment method.

Schedule D. Use Schedule D for the following purposes.

To figure the overall gain (or loss) from transactions reported on Form 8949.
To report a gain from Form 6252 or Part I of Form 4797.
To report a gain (or loss) from Form 4684, 6781, or 8824.
To report capital gain distributions not reported directly on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 7a (or effectively connected capital gain distributions not reported directly on Form 1040-NR, line 7a).
To report a capital loss carryover from the previous tax year to the current tax year.
To report your share of a gain (or loss) from a partnership, S corporation, estate, or trust. (However, corporations report this type of gain (or loss) on Form 8949.)
To report certain transactions you don't have to report on Form 8949, such as transactions reported to you on a Form 1099-B or Form 1099-DA (or substitute statement) showing basis was reported to the IRS and for which you have no adjustments, as explained under Exception 1, later.

Individuals, estates, and trusts also use Schedule D to report undistributed long-term capital gains from Form 2439.

Additional information. See the instructions for the Schedule D you are filing for detailed information about other topics, including the following.

Other forms you may have to file.
The definition of capital asset.
Certain digital assets, such as Bitcoin. Also, see the Instructions for Form 1040 and IRS.gov/VirtualCurrencyFAQs .
Reporting capital gain distributions, undistributed capital gains, the sale of a main home, the sale of capital assets held for personal use, or the sale of a partnership interest.
Capital losses, nondeductible losses, and losses from wash sales.
Traders in securities.
Short sales.
Gain or loss from options.
Installment sales.
Demutualization of life insurance companies.
Exclusion or rollover of gain from the sale of qualified small business (QSB) stock.
Any other rollover of gain.
Exclusion of gain from the sale or exchange of DC Zone assets or qualified community assets.
Deferral of gain invested in a QOF.
Certain other items that get special treatment.
Special reporting rules for corporations, partnerships, estates, and trusts in certain situations.

The basis of a digital asset is the cost to acquire the digital asset, including transaction fees, commissions, transfer taxes, and other acquisition costs.

For more information on basis, see Column (e)—Cost or Other Basis , later, and the following publications.

• Pub. 550, Investment Income and Expenses.

Pub. 551, Basis of Assets.

If you lost or didn't keep records to determine your basis in securities, contact your broker for help. If you receive a Form 1099-B or Form 1099-DA (or substitute statement), your broker may have reported your basis for these securities in box 1e on Form 1099-B or box 1g on Form 1099-DA.

The IRS partners with companies that offer Form 8949 software that can import trades from many brokerage firms and accounting software that can help you keep

IRS.gov/Efile .

Short-Term or Long-Term Separate your capital gains and losses according to how long you held or owned the property.

The holding period for short-term capital gains and losses is generally 1 year or less. Taxpayers that hold certain partnership interests in connection with the performance of services may be subject to different holding period rules. See the Schedule D instructions for more information. Report these transactions on Part I of Form 8949 (or line 1a of Schedule D if you can use Exception 1 under the instructions for line 1, later).

The holding period for long-term capital gains and losses is generally more than 1 year. Taxpayers that hold certain partnership interests in connection with the performance of services may be subject to different holding period rules. See the Schedule D instructions for more information. Report these transactions on Part II of Form 8949 (or line 8a of Schedule D if you can use Exception 1 under the instructions for line 1, later).

To figure the holding period, begin counting on the day after you received the property and include the day you disposed of it.

Generally, if you disposed of property that you acquired by inheritance, report the disposition as a long-term gain (or loss) regardless of how long you held the property.

A nonbusiness bad debt must be treated as a short-term capital loss. See Pub. 550 for what qualifies as a nonbusiness bad debt and how to enter it on Part I of Form 8949.

Form 1099-B or Form 1099-DA. If you received a Form 1099-B or Form 1099-DA (or substitute statement) for a transaction, box 2 on Form 1099-B or box 6 on Form 1099-DA may help you determine whether your gain (or loss) is short term, long term, or subject to special rules. If box 2 on Form 1099-B or box 6 on Form 1099-DA is blank and code X is in the "Applicable checkbox on Form 8949" box near the top of Form 1099-B or Form 1099-DA, your broker doesn't know whether your gain (or loss) is short term or long term. Use your own records to determine whether your gain (or loss) is short term or long term.

Corporation's Gains and Losses From Partnerships, Estates, or Trusts Report a corporation's share of capital gains and losses from investments in partnerships, estates, or trusts on the appropriate part of Form 8949. Report a net short-term capital gain (or loss) on Part I with box C or box I checked and a net long-term capital gain (or loss) on Part II with box F or box L checked. In column (a), enter “From Schedule K-1 (Form 1065)” or “From Schedule K-1 (Form 1041),” whichever applies; enter the gain (or loss) in column (h); and leave all other columns blank.

For more information about reporting on Forms 6252, 4797, 4684, 6781, and 8824, see the instructions for those forms. See Pub. 544 and Pub. 550 for more details.

Basis and Recordkeeping Basis is the amount of your investment in property for tax purposes. The basis of property you buy is usually its cost. You need to know your basis to figure any gain (or loss) on the sale or other disposition of the property. You must keep accurate records that show the basis and, if applicable, adjusted basis of your property. Your records should show the purchase price, including commissions; increases to basis, such as the cost of improvements; and decreases to basis, such as depreciation, nondividend distributions on stock, and stock splits.

2 Instructions for Form 8949 (2025)

If more than one Schedule K-1 is received, report each on a separate row. Include additional identifying information, such as “Partnership X.”

Section 1061 Reporting Section 1061 recharacterizes certain long-term capital gains of a partner that holds one or more applicable partnership interests as short-term capital gains. An applicable partnership interest is an interest in a partnership that is transferred to or held by a taxpayer, directly or indirectly, in connection with the performance of substantial services by the taxpayer or any other related person, in an applicable trade or business. See Section 1061 Reporting Guidance FAQs for reporting of section 1061 recharacterization amounts on the Form 8949.

Digital Assets A digital asset is any digital representation of value that is recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger (or any similar technology), without regard to whether each individual transaction involving that digital asset is actually recorded on that ledger. A digital asset is treated as property, and general tax principles that apply to property transactions apply to transactions using digital assets, including how to figure your holding period for short-term and long-term capital gains and losses explained earlier under Short-Term or Long-Term . Digital assets include property that has been referred to as “convertible virtual currency,” “cryptocurrency,” and “non-fungible tokens.” If a particular asset has the characteristics of a digital asset, it will be treated as a digital asset for federal income tax purposes. For more information on the tax treatment of digital assets, see Notice 2014-21, 2014-16 I.R.B. 938, available at IRS.gov/irb/2014-16 IRB#NOT-2014-21, as modified by Notice 2023-34, 2023-19 I.R.B. 837, available at IRS.gov/irb/2023-19 IRB#NOT-2023-34 . For more information on digital asset transactions, see IRS.gov/VirtualCurrencyFAQs .

Digital asset transactions should not be reported using box C or F. Instead, digital asset transactions should be reported using box G, H, or I for short-term transactions. Box J, K, or L should be used to report long-term transactions.

For more information on the tax treatment of property transactions and on short-term and long-term capital gains and losses, see Pub. 544.

Rounding Off to Whole Dollars You can round off cents to whole dollars on Form 8949. If you do round to whole dollars, round all amounts. To round, drop cent amounts under 50 cents and increase cent amounts over 49 cents to the next dollar. For example, $1.49 becomes $1 and $1.50 becomes $2.