Form 1099-S: Real Estate Sale Reporting, Box by Box
Form 1099-S reports the sale or exchange of real estate: under the IRS instructions (Rev. December 2026), generally the person responsible for closing the transaction files it, but a sale of a residence “for $250,000 or less” is not reportable if the filer received an acceptable written assurance (certification) from the seller that it is the seller’s principal residence (within the meaning of section 121) and that the full gain is excludable under section 121, with $500,000 substituted if the certification says the seller is married. Publication 1099 (2026) gives February 15 for the seller’s copy and February 28 for the IRS (March 31 if filed electronically).
Maintained by Archie Chang · Sources checked against IRS text on November 2, 2026 · Methodology & sources
What Form 1099-S reports
The IRS describes the form in one line, and the instructions then list what counts as reportable real estate:
“Use Form 1099-S to report the sale or exchange of real estate.”
“File Form 1099-S, Proceeds From Real Estate Transactions, to report the sale or exchange of real estate.”
“Generally, you are required to report a transaction that consists in whole or in part of the sale or exchange for money, indebtedness, property, or services of any present or future ownership interest in any of the following.
1. Improved or unimproved land, including air space.
2. Inherently permanent structures, including any residential, commercial, or industrial building.
3. A condominium unit and its appurtenant fixtures and common elements, including land.
4. Stock in a cooperative housing corporation (as defined in section 216).
5. Any non-contingent interest in standing timber.”
“Sale or exchange. A sale or exchange includes any transaction properly treated as a sale or exchange for federal income tax purposes, even if the transaction is not currently taxable. For example, a sale of a main home may be a reportable sale even though the transferor may be entitled to exclude the gain under section 121. But see Exceptions, later.”
Who files Form 1099-S
The instructions name the person responsible for closing the transaction, give an order for cases where no one is responsible, and allow a written agreement. These are excerpts: the instructions also give fallback rules, for example an order of attorneys and title or escrow companies when no Closing Disclosure is used or if two or more Closing Disclosures are used, that are not reproduced here.
“Generally, the person responsible for closing the transaction, as explained in (1) below, is required to file Form 1099-S. If no one is responsible for closing the transaction, the person required to file Form 1099-S is explained in (2), later. However, you may designate the person required to file Form 1099-S in a written agreement, as explained under (3), later.”
“If you are the person responsible for closing the transaction, you must file Form 1099-S. If a Closing Disclosure or other settlement form is used, as prescribed under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), and a person is listed as the settlement agent on the Closing Disclosure or other settlement statement, the person responsible for closing the transaction is the person listed as the settlement agent on that Closing Disclosure or other settlement statement.”
“If no one is responsible for closing the transaction, as explained in (1) above, the person responsible for filing is, in the following order: (a) the mortgage lender, (b) the transferor’s broker, (c) the transferee’s broker, or (d) the transferee.”
“You can enter into a written agreement at or before closing to designate who must file Form 1099-S for the transaction.”
“For multiple transferors of the same real estate, you must file a separate Form 1099-S for each transferor.”
“If the transferors were spouses at the time of closing who held the property as joint tenants, tenants by the entirety, tenants in common, or as community property, treat them as a single transferor. Only one Form 1099-S showing either spouse as the transferor is required.”
Transactions that are not reportable, and the written assurance
The instructions list five kinds of transactions that are not reportable, and the whole list is quoted below. The filer may choose to report them:
“The following is a list of transactions that are not reportable; however, you may choose to report them. If you do, you are subject to the rules in these instructions.”
The first item is the residence exception, worded “for $250,000 or less”, and the second amount is substituted when the certification says the seller is married:
| Case | Amount as worded in the instructions |
|---|---|
| Sale or exchange of a residence, with an acceptable written assurance (certification) from the seller | $250,000 or less |
| The certification includes an assurance that the seller is married | $500,000 substituted for $250,000 |
The $250,000 and $500,000 figures are the reporting exception’s amounts, worded “for $250,000 or less”. The section 121 gain exclusion is a separate condition that the seller’s assurance must cover: “the full amount of the gain on such sale is excludable from gross income under section 121”.
“Sale or exchange of a residence (including stock in a cooperative housing corporation) for $250,000 or less if you received an acceptable written assurance (certification) from the seller that such residence is the principal residence (within the meaning of section 121) of the seller and the full amount of the gain on such sale is excludable from gross income under section 121. If the certification includes an assurance that the seller is married, the preceding sentence shall be applied by substituting “$500,000” for “$250,000.” If there are joint sellers, you must obtain a certification from each seller (whether married or not) or file Form 1099-S for any seller who does not make the certification.”
“Also, the seller must include in the certification that there has been no period of nonqualified use (as that term is defined in section 121(b)(5)(C)) after December 31, 2008, and as required by section 6045(e)(5)(A)(iii), that the full amount of the gain from the sale is excludable under
[…]
section 121. The certification must be signed by each seller under penalties of perjury.”
“You may get the certification any time on or before January 31 of the year after the year of sale. You may rely on the certification and not file or furnish Form 1099-S unless you know that any assurance on the certification is incorrect.”
“You must keep the certification for 4 years after the year of sale.”
“You are not required to obtain the certification. However, if you do not obtain it, you must file and furnish Form 1099-S.”
The other four items:
“Any transaction in which the transferor is a corporation (or is considered to be a corporation under Regulations section 1.6045-4(d)(2)). A corporation includes associations, joint-stock companies, and insurance companies, as well as publicly traded partnerships. Any transaction in which the transferor is a governmental unit (including U.S. territories), including a foreign government or an international organization, or an exempt volume transferor. Under this rule, if there are exempt and nonexempt transferors, you must file Form 1099-S only for the nonexempt transferor. An exempt volume transferor is someone who sold or exchanged during the year, who expects to sell or exchange during the year, or who sold or exchanged in either of the 2 previous years at least 25 separate items of reportable real estate to at least 25 separate transferees. In addition, each item of reportable real estate must have been held, at the date of closing, or will be held primarily for sale or resale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business. You are not required to report an exempt volume transferor’s transactions if you receive, under penalties of perjury, a certification of exempt status required by Regulations section 1.6045-4(d)(3).”
“Any transaction that is not a sale or exchange, including a bequest, a gift (including a transaction treated as a gift under section 1041), and a financing or refinancing that is not related to the acquisition of real estate.”
“A transfer in full or partial satisfaction of a debt secured by the property. This includes a foreclosure, a transfer in lieu of foreclosure, or an abandonment.”
“A de minimis transfer for less than $600. A transaction is de minimis if it can be determined with certainty that the total money, services, and property received or to be received is less than $600, as measured on the closing date.”
“The $600 rule applies to the transaction as a whole, not separately to each transferor.”
The $600 de minimis amount is separate from the $250,000 and $500,000 amounts above.
Box by box
The form and instructions are the December 2026 revision, which the instructions say to use for 2026 information filed in early 2027. The IRS cover page explains why the form for 2026 sales was posted before 2026:
“Continuous-use revision. Use the December 2026 revisions of Form 1099-S and these instructions to file 2026 information with the IRS in early 2027. Also use them to furnish the information to the recipient. Continue to use these revisions for subsequent years until we issue a superseding revision. Do not use these revisions for prior years.”
“We therefore make the Form 1099-S for use in reporting 2026 sales available just before 2026, so issuers can use it to meet their responsibility to furnish a copy to the recipient for sales beginning in 2026, even though the form can’t be filed with the IRS until January 2027.”
“Digital assets. Beginning in tax year 2026, digital assets will be reported on Form 1099-S when used in the sale or exchange of real estate. These instructions provide guidance for reporting digital assets received in connection with the sale or exchange of real estate.”
| Box | Label on the form | Transferor copy (Instructions for Transferor) |
|---|---|---|
| Box 1 | Date of closing | Shows the date of closing. |
| Box 2a | Total gross proceeds | Shows the total gross proceeds from a real estate transaction, generally the sales price. Box 2a is the total of boxes 2b and 2c. Box 2a does not include the value of other services or property (other than the value of digital assets) you received or will receive. |
| Box 2b | Cash gross proceeds | Shows the gross proceeds from a real estate transaction received in the form of cash, notes payable to you, notes assumed by the transferee (buyer), and any notes paid off at settlement. Box 2b does not include the value of digital assets, other property, or services you received or will receive. |
| Box 2c | Digital asset gross proceeds | Shows the gross proceeds from a real estate transaction you received, or will receive, in the form of digital assets measured in U.S. dollars. A digital asset is defined as a digital representation of value that is recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger or any similar technology. Go to www.irs.gov/DigitalAssets for additional information about digital assets. |
| Box 3 | Address (including city, state, and ZIP code) or legal description | Shows the address or legal description of the property transferred. |
| Box 4 | Buyer’s part of real estate tax | Shows certain real estate tax on a residence charged to the buyer at settlement. If you have already paid the real estate tax for the period that includes the sale date, subtract the amount in box 4 from the amount already paid to determine your deductible real estate tax. But if you have already deducted the real estate tax in a prior year, generally report this amount as income on the “Other income” line of Schedule 1 (Form 1040). For more information, see Pub. 523, Pub. 525, and Pub. 530. |
| Box 5 | (no label printed) | Reserved for future use. |
| Box 6 | Check here if the transferor received or will receive services or property (other than cash, notes, or digital assets) as part of the consideration | If checked, shows that you received or will receive services or property (other than cash, notes, or digital assets) as part of the consideration for the property transferred. The value of any services or property (other than cash, notes, or digital assets) is not included in boxes 2a, 2b, and 2c. |
| Box 7 | Check here if the transferor is a foreign person (nonresident alien, foreign partnership, foreign estate, or foreign trust) | If checked, shows that you are a foreign person (nonresident alien, foreign partnership, foreign estate, or foreign trust). |
| Box 8a | Code for digital asset received, or to be received, as consideration | Shows the Digital Token Identifier Foundation (DTIF) code associated with the name shown in box 8b for which the amounts are being reported. See https://dtif.org/registry-search. |
| Box 8b | Name of digital asset received, or to be received, as consideration | Shows the name of the digital asset you received, or will receive, as consideration. |
| Box 8c | Number of digital asset units received, or to be received, as consideration | Shows the number of digital asset units you received, or will receive, as consideration. |
| Box 8d | Date digital asset received, or to be received, as consideration | Shows the date you received, or will receive, digital assets as consideration. |
“Do not reduce gross proceeds by any expenses paid by the transferor, such as sales commissions, deed preparation, advertising, and legal expense.”
Due dates
Publication 1099 (2026) gives the dates in its Guide to Information Returns: the transferor’s copy by February 15, and the IRS copy by February 28, or March 31 if filed electronically, according to the footnote under the table.
“1099-S Proceeds From Real Estate Transactions Gross proceeds from the sale or exchange of real estate and certain royalty payments. Generally, $600 or more February 28* February 15”
“* The due date is March 31 if filed electronically.”
“For real estate transactions, you may furnish Form 1099-S to the transferor on or after the date of closing and on or before February 15 of the following calendar year. See Regulations section 1.6045-4(m).”
“If you are required to file Form 1099-S, you must furnish a statement to the transferor. Furnish a copy of Form 1099-S or an acceptable substitute statement to each transferor.”
“If any filing due date in these instructions falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, you will be considered to have timely filed if you file by the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday. Legal holidays for this purpose are legal holidays in the District of Columbia or a statewide legal holiday where the return is required to be filed. Also, a leap year does not extend the filing deadline. Dates of February 28 in these instructions remain February 28 even in leap years; the due date does not become February 29.”
“Treasury Decision 9972, published February 23, 2023, lowered the e-file threshold to 10 (calculated by aggregating all information returns), effective for information returns required to be filed on or after January 1, 2024.”
The February 28 and March 31 dates are the same ones used on the 1099 reporting thresholds page.
If you are the seller and get a Form 1099-S
The transferor’s copy carries a warning and says where to look:
“This is important tax information and is being furnished to the IRS. If you are required to file a return, a negligence penalty or other sanction may be imposed on you if this item is required to be reported and the IRS determines that it has not been reported.”
“For sales or exchanges of certain real estate, the person responsible for closing a real estate transaction must report the real estate proceeds to the IRS and must furnish this statement to you. To determine if you have to report the sale or exchange of your main home on your tax return, see the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040). If the real estate was not your main home, report the transaction on Form 4797, Form 6252, and/or the Schedule D for the appropriate income tax form. If box 6 is checked and you received or will receive like-kind property, you must file Form 8824.”
What this page does not cover
- The Instructions for Form 1099-S (Rev. December 2026) and Form 1099-S do not list which box numbers changed from the earlier revision, so this page does not say which boxes were renumbered.
- The instructions’ Reminders list penalties among the topics covered by Publication 1099, and this page does not cover penalty amounts or state rules.
- The instructions add a list of interests that need no reporting when unrelated to reportable real estate, such as burial plots and natural resources; that list is not reproduced here.
Frequently asked questions
Who files Form 1099-S?
The instructions say generally the person responsible for closing the transaction files it. When a Closing Disclosure lists a settlement agent, that person is the one responsible. If no one is responsible for closing, the instructions give an order of mortgage lender, transferor’s broker, transferee’s broker and transferee, and they allow a written designation agreement. The instructions also give fallback rules for cases with no Closing Disclosure or with two or more.
Is a Form 1099-S needed for a home sale of $250,000 or less?
The instructions list a sale of a residence “for $250,000 or less” as not reportable if the filer received an acceptable written assurance (certification) from the seller that it is the seller’s principal residence and that the full amount of the gain is excludable under section 121. If the certification includes an assurance that the seller is married, $500,000 is substituted. The instructions say the filer is not required to obtain the certification and must file and furnish the form if it does not.
Is there a minimum amount for Form 1099-S?
The instructions list a de minimis transfer for less than $600 as not reportable, measured on the closing date for the transaction as a whole. Publication 1099 (2026) shows “Generally, $600 or more” for the form in its Guide to Information Returns. The $250,000 and $500,000 amounts in the residence exception are a separate rule.
When are Form 1099-S copies due?
Publication 1099 (2026) lists February 15 for the transferor’s copy and February 28 for the IRS, with a footnote that the IRS date is March 31 if filed electronically. It says a filer may furnish the form to the transferor on or after the date of closing and on or before February 15 of the following calendar year.
What do the boxes on Form 1099-S show?
Box 1 is the date of closing, boxes 2a to 2c are total, cash and digital asset gross proceeds (2a is the total of 2b and 2c), box 3 is the property address or legal description, box 4 is the buyer’s part of real estate tax, boxes 6 and 7 are checkboxes for other consideration and for a foreign transferor, and boxes 8a to 8d describe digital assets. Box 5 is marked reserved for future use.
Which transactions does the IRS list as not reportable?
The instructions list five: a residence sale with the seller’s certification, a transferor that is a corporation, governmental unit or exempt volume transferor, a transaction that is not a sale or exchange (such as a bequest or gift), a transfer in satisfaction of a debt secured by the property (such as a foreclosure), and a de minimis transfer for less than $600. For an exempt volume transferor, the instructions say a filer need not report its transactions if it receives, under penalties of perjury, a certification of exempt status required by Regulations section 1.6045-4(d)(3), and that when there are exempt and nonexempt transferors, Form 1099-S is filed only for the nonexempt transferor. They add that a filer may choose to report these, and then the instructions’ rules apply.
What does the IRS say a seller does with a Form 1099-S?
The transferor copy says: “To determine if you have to report the sale or exchange of your main home on your tax return, see the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040).” If the real estate was not a main home, it points to Form 4797, Form 6252 or Schedule D.
What does the December 2026 revision add for digital assets?
The instructions state that, beginning in tax year 2026, digital assets are reported on Form 1099-S when used in the sale or exchange of real estate. The form carries boxes 2c and 8a to 8d for them. The Instructions for Form 1099-S (Rev. December 2026) and Form 1099-S do not list which box numbers changed from the earlier revision.