DawnC
Employee Tax Expert

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Whether you choose short term or long term depends on the date you purchased or obtained the investment/security and the date you sold or otherwise disposed of it (holding period).   Less than a year is short-term and over a year is long-term.

 

That's the period (holding period) you own the property before you sell it.  When figuring the holding period, the day you buy property does not count, but the day you sell it does.  So, if you bought a stock on March 20, 2020, your holding period began on March 21, 2020. Thus, March 20, 2021 would mark one year of ownership for tax purposes.

 

  • If you sold on March 20, you would have a short-term gain or loss.
  • A sale one day later on March 21 would produce long-term tax consequences, since you would have held the asset for more than one year.

 

Box 1e has your basis.   If your basis is there, it is probably covered (it was reported to the IRS).    If no basis is reported on your 1099-B, it is not covered.   Also, Box 5 will be marked if it is a non-covered security.

 

The broker that issued you the form can answer any question you may have regarding the details of the transactions on your Form 1099-B.  

 

How Form 1099-B is used

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