Investments and digital assets on the return

A reader who sold investments or digital assets wants to know what the return asks for.

Nothing here decides whether a return is due for you, what your status is, or who you may claim. Those turn on your own facts.

What the rules say

We do not work out anyone's tax, refund or balance. We explain what each rule asks for; the arithmetic belongs to you and to whatever you file with.

• Sales and other dispositions of capital assets are detailed on Form 8949 and summarised on Schedule D, and a digital asset question appears on the face of the return.

The records this part asks for

• What each investment cost, when it was bought, and any adjustments since — Gain or loss on a sale cannot be established from the sale proceeds alone: the cost basis and holding period are required.
• A record of each digital-asset transaction during the year — The return asks a direct question about digital assets, and dispositions are reported like other dispositions.

The forms involved, and what each one is

There are two different kinds of document here: ones you receive and copy from, and ones that are part of the return itself. They are easy to confuse and they behave nothing alike.

• Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses — part of the return you file. Holding an asset without disposing of it does not put anything on Schedule D.
• Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets — supporting form. Basis must come from the taxpayer's own records where the broker did not report it.
• Form 1099-B, Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions — information return input. Proceeds are not gain. Basis may be absent from the form.
• Purchase and basis records for property sold — supporting record. Kept by the taxpayer. Not transmitted with an electronically filed return.

What we are not saying

• Not: that an absent broker statement removes the reporting duty.
• Not: that answering the digital asset question decides the tax treatment.
• Not: A broker statement showing proceeds is not a statement of gain, and it is not a statement of tax owed.

Sources

Every source on this page shows the body that issued it and the date we read it. Amounts are stated for tax year 2025, and the text behind this centre was last read on 2026-08-16.

• Instructions for Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital AssetsInternal Revenue Service. Read for: Each disposition is reported with its proceeds and its basis, and the instructions distinguish transactions for which basis was reported to the IRS from those for which it was not. tax year 2025. Read on 2026-08-16.
• Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and LossesInternal Revenue Service. Read for: Schedule D summarises capital gains and losses, and the individual dispositions are generally detailed on Form 8949 first. tax year 2025. Read on 2026-08-16.
• Determine how to answer the digital asset questionInternal Revenue Service. Read for: The IRS states which activities require a yes answer and which do not, and holding a digital asset without any transaction is among those that do not. not year-scoped. Read on 2026-08-16.
• How long should I keep records?Internal Revenue Service. Read for: The retention period depends on the action, expense or event a record relates to, and the IRS states different periods for different circumstances rather than one universal period. not year-scoped. Read on 2026-08-16.
• Digital assetsInternal Revenue Service. Read for: The IRS treats digital assets as property and states that a disposition is reported in the same way as a disposition of other capital assets, on the dispositions form and the capital gains schedule. not year-scoped. Read on 2026-08-16.
• About Form 1099-B, Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange TransactionsInternal Revenue Service. Read for: A broker reports proceeds from dispositions it handled, and indicates whether basis was reported to the IRS. not year-scoped. Read on 2026-08-16.

Where to go next

Educational information only. This is not tax advice, we are not your tax preparer, and nothing here is a determination about your own return. Check the linked official sources, and consider a professional for anything that turns on your specific facts.