How to File Stock Information
- 1). Gather all of your stock-related information, including brokerage statements, stock purchase and sale confirmations, brokerage statements and Forms 1099.
- 2). Wait until you have received all of your Forms 1099 to start filing your taxes. Keep in mind that you may not receive all of your statements until sometime in February. If you use a tax preparation software package, however, you can enter the information as you receive it and see up-to-date information on the amount you may owe the IRS.
- 3). Examine each Form 1099 you receive from your mutual fund companies and brokerage firms. The forms should break out the amount of capital gains on each of your funds, as well as information about any dividends you have received.
- 4). Enter the information from your 1099s into your favorite tax preparation software. Make sure you break out long-term and short-term capital gains, since the IRS treats these two classes differently. The 1099 you receive from your broker should break out the capital gains into short-term and long-term categories.
- 5). Make sure you report all of the capital gains and dividends you receive as you file your taxes. If you have stock market investments, it is a good idea to use a tax preparation software package like Turbo Tax or Tax Cut, since these packages will do all of those complicated calculations for you.
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