How do I know if my dividends are ordinary or qualified (I did not receive a form 1099-DIV)?

[inmate139]

I was given a year end account statement with just dividends and capital gains, but no mention of whether these dividends are qualified or not and no 1099-DIV form at all.

[rjs · Accepted solution]

You need Form 1099-DIV to show how much of the dividends are qualified. That's how you know. Are you sure the 1099-DIV is not included in your year-end statement? Brokers, investment managers, and other financial institutions often send a consolidated statement that includes sections for Form 1099-DIV and other 1099-series forms. They do not send Form 1099-DIV separately. Look through the whole statement carefully and see if the 1099-DIV is there. If not, contact the financial institution and ask them how you can get it.

[inmate139]

Thanks very much for clarifying about the dividends; no, unfortunately there is no 1099-DIV and Oakmark Funds has managed to never send one for all the years I've had a Roth IRA with them. They list several reasons for this, but it has always made it difficult to know how to report the dividends. Here are some of what they list as reasons for this:
"The Fund you invested in did not pay a distribution during the calendar year.  Please see Current Year Distributions below to determine if your Fund paid a distribution."
"The tax status on your account may be listed as "exempt"  Certain account types, including corporations, charitable organizations, IRAs, and pension/profit-sharing plans, may be exempt from reporting."

[rjs]

Dividends in an IRA (Roth or traditional) are not taxable and you do not report them on your income tax return. That's why they don't send you a 1099-DIV. It doesn't matter how much of the dividends are qualified, because you don't enter them on your tax return at all. The dividend information in your annual statement is just for your information, to show you what earnings have been credited to your Roth IRA. You don't put it on your tax return.

[inmate139]

 Wow, that's the answer that has eluded me for years. It would have been so nice if my fund had just clearly stated this fact to help its clients. I've always ended up just reporting the dividends to hopefully avoid any kind of trouble with the IRS. Thanks so much for your time and expertise!

[inmate139]

My apologies, but one more question about this. So do I not report the capital gains either for this same Roth IRA fund? Thanks again.

[rjs]

That's right. You don't report the capital gains in a Roth IRA on your tax return. The main tax advantage of a Roth IRA is that the earnings in the account are tax-free.

[VolvoGirl]

That's why you never got any 1099 for this account.  It may be worth it to amend the last 3 years if you reported a lot of dividends and Gaines.

[inmate139]

Thanks so much to you both for all your help.

[fanfare]

your dividend is qualified if you held the issuing stock for a 120 day period including  the dividend date,

If your holdings are in a tax-deferred account, never mind.