1099-B Losses Less than $1

[unwrittenfuture]

I have a SUPER small loss to report on a new investment account.  Less than $1.  Do I need to report this?

[AnnetteB]

Yes, you do need to report it.

The issue is not the amount of loss, it is the value of the overall transaction.  If you do not report it, you could be contacted by the IRS for not reporting income on your return. 

Consider the scenario where you have proceeds of a sale that was $49 with a cost basis of $50.  This would be a $1 loss.  If it were not reported, there would only be $49 of income not reported on your return.

Similarly, if you had proceeds of a sale that was $49,999 with a cost basis of $50,000, the overall loss would still be $1.  In this case though, not reporting the income would certainly get some attention from the IRS.