1099-DIV: what it reports, and where to download it
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
A 1099-DIV (Dividends and Distributions) reports the dividends and capital gain distributions a broker, fund company or corporation paid you during the year, generally when they reach USD 10 or more. Brokers usually include it in a consolidated 1099 with your interest and sales. Download it from your brokerage account’s tax documents page.
What is a 1099-DIV?
Form 1099-DIV shows box 1a total ordinary dividends, box 1b the part that counts as qualified dividends, box 2a total capital gain distributions, and box 4 federal income tax withheld. Foreign tax paid on foreign holdings appears in box 7.
Mutual funds and ETFs often pay capital gain distributions even in a year you sold nothing, so a 1099-DIV can arrive for an account you never touched.
Who sends it, and when
Your brokerage firm, a mutual fund company or a corporation that pays you directly issues it. The 1099-DIV is due by January 31, but brokers that send it inside a consolidated statement with a 1099-B can take longer, and corrected versions can follow.
Where to get a 1099-DIV
- Your brokerage account, under Tax center, Tax documents or Statements.
- The consolidated 1099 PDF, where the 1099-DIV is one section among others.
- A fund company or transfer agent account, for funds held directly.
- Your email, for a notice that the form or a corrected form is ready.
- For a past year, the IRS Wage and Income transcript in your IRS Online Account.
Wrong files people send instead
- A year-end portfolio statement instead of the 1099-DIV.
- Only the summary page of a consolidated 1099, without the detail pages.
- The original form when a corrected one was issued later.
- Nothing for a retirement account: IRAs and 401(k)s do not issue a 1099-DIV, so that is normal.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between ordinary and qualified dividends?
Qualified dividends, shown in box 1b, are a part of the ordinary dividends in box 1a that can be taxed at lower capital gains rates.
Why did my broker send a corrected 1099-DIV?
Funds and companies sometimes reclassify payments after year end. Send your preparer the latest corrected version.
Ask once. DokuTrak does the chasing.
- Your client uploads from one link, with no account and no password.
- Reminders go out on a schedule, by default 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after the request, until the file arrives.
- With AI review switched on in your workspace (it is off by default), each upload gets a first pass that flags a file that is not a 1099-DIV or an unreadable or blurry scan. It says so when it is not sure.
- You accept every file or mark it for re-upload, and your client gets the note by email. The AI never accepts a file.