What Shows Up on Form 1099-DIV
Who Sends the Form
Companies pay dividends to people who own their stock, mostly in cash but sometimes in stock or other property. Mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), money market funds and real estate investment trusts (REITs) also pay dividends to investors. Form 1099-DIV is one of several types of 1099 forms, which report income other than wages.
A payer must file a 1099-DIV for you if it paid you $10 or more in dividends or withheld certain taxes from your payments. The payer must send you your copy by January 31 for most returns.
The Boxes to Know
The form splits your payments into categories, each with its own box.
| Box | What it shows |
|---|---|
| 1a | Total ordinary dividends, including reinvested and money market fund dividends |
| 1b | Qualified dividends (already counted in Box 1a) |
| 2a | Total capital gain distributions |
| 3 | Nondividend distributions |
| 4 | Federal income tax withheld |
| 7 | Foreign tax paid |
| 12 | Exempt-interest dividends |
| 14–16 | State tax information |
Other 1099s use a similar layout, so it helps to know how to read a 1099. Interest from a bank account arrives separately on Form 1099-INT.
How Dividends on Form 1099-DIV Are Taxed
How much tax you owe depends on which box an amount lands in.
Ordinary and Qualified Dividends
All taxable dividends are ordinary income, taxed at your regular income tax rates. Qualified dividends are ordinary dividends that get lower capital gain rates. A capital gain is the profit you make when you sell an investment for more than you paid.
Your payer tells you which dividends are qualified in Box 1b. For tax year 2025, qualified dividend rates depend on your taxable income (income after deductions) and filing status (such as single):
| Rate | Single | Married filing separately | Married filing jointly | Head of household |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | Up to $48,350 | Up to $48,350 | Up to $96,700 | Up to $64,750 |
| 15% | Up to $533,400 | Up to $300,000 | Up to $600,050 | Up to $566,700 |
| 20% | Above $533,400 | Above $300,000 | Above $600,050 | Above $566,700 |
Capital Gain Distributions
A capital gain distribution is a payout of profits a mutual fund or REIT earned by selling investments. You always report it as a long-term capital gain, so it also gets the lower rates above.
Nondividend Distributions
A nondividend distribution, also called a return of capital, pays back part of the money you invested. It lowers your cost basis, which is what you paid for the investment. Once your basis reaches zero, any further nondividend distributions are taxable capital gains.
What to Do With Your 1099-DIV
Once your forms arrive, work through these steps:
- Collect the 1099-DIV from each brokerage or fund that paid you $10 or more, and compare the amounts to your records.
- Report your dividends on your return. Reinvested dividends still count, and they appear in Box 1a.
- File Schedule B (Form 1040) if your taxable ordinary dividends total more than $1,500. If your total is $1,500 or less, skip Schedule B and just enter your ordinary dividends (Box 1a) on Form 1040, line 3b, and your qualified dividends (Box 1b) on line 3a.
- Enter any federal tax withheld from Box 4 on your return.
If you earn large dividends, you may also owe the net investment income tax, an extra tax on investment earnings. You may need to make estimated tax payments too, which are payments you send during the year instead of at filing time.
