Fidelity files a set of information returns with the IRS each year covering the taxable activity in your accounts, and it sends you identical copies so the two records match. The main tax forms Fidelity files with the IRS are Form 1099-B for investment sales, Form 1099-DIV for dividends, Form 1099-INT for interest, Form 1099-R for retirement account distributions, Form 1099-DA for digital asset sales, Form 1099-SA for HSA distributions, and Forms 5498 and 5498-SA for IRA and HSA contributions. Each form covers a different slice of your account activity, and each has its own timing and quirks.
Form 1099-B: Investment Sales
Fidelity files Form 1099-B whenever you sell stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, or other securities in a taxable brokerage account. The form shows your sale proceeds, your cost basis (what you originally paid), and whether the gain or loss is short-term (held one year or less) or long-term (held more than one year).1Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409, Capital Gains and Losses The IRS taxes only the difference between what you sold for and your cost basis, so accurate basis reporting is critical.
Fidelity is required to report cost basis to the IRS for “covered” securities, which generally means anything purchased in 2011 or later for stocks and 2012 or later for mutual funds and most other securities. For older “non-covered” holdings, Fidelity reports the sale proceeds but not the basis. You are responsible for calculating and reporting your own cost basis on Form 8949 for those sales.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8949
The 1099-B also flags wash sales. If you sell a security at a loss and repurchase a substantially identical security within 30 days before or after the sale, the loss is disallowed and added to the basis of the replacement shares. Fidelity reports the disallowed loss amount in Box 1g when both the sale and repurchase happen in the same account.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-B (2026) Wash sales across different accounts or different brokers are still your responsibility to track.
Form 1099-DIV: Dividends and Distributions
Form 1099-DIV covers dividends and fund distributions paid into your taxable account. Box 1a shows total ordinary dividends, taxed at your regular income tax rate. Box 1b breaks out qualified dividends, which are eligible for the lower long-term capital gains rates.4Internal Revenue Service. IRS Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions
Box 2a reports capital gain distributions, which mutual funds and REITs pass through when they sell holdings at a profit. These are always taxed at long-term rates regardless of how long you held the fund shares.4Internal Revenue Service. IRS Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions The form also shows non-taxable return-of-capital distributions, which reduce your cost basis in the investment rather than creating current taxable income. If your investments paid foreign taxes on dividends, the 1099-DIV reports that amount too, and you can claim a credit for it on your return.5Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Tax Credit
Form 1099-INT: Interest Income
Form 1099-INT reports all taxable interest credited to your account during the year. This includes interest from corporate bonds, brokered CDs, and cash sitting in money market positions. U.S. Treasury interest appears in a separate box because it is taxable at the federal level but exempt from state and local income taxes.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 403, Interest Received
Tax-exempt interest from municipal bonds gets reported as well, even though you don’t owe federal tax on it. The IRS uses that figure elsewhere in your return, including in the calculation that determines whether your Social Security benefits are taxable and whether you owe the Net Investment Income Tax. If you bought a bond between interest payment dates, the 1099-INT may overstate your taxable interest because it includes accrued interest you paid the seller at purchase. You can subtract that accrued amount on your return, since the seller, not you, owes tax on it.
Form 1099-R: Retirement Distributions
Fidelity issues a 1099-R for any distribution from a retirement account, whether it’s a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or annuity. The form shows the gross distribution, the taxable portion, and any federal or state taxes Fidelity withheld. The single most important field is Box 7, which contains a distribution code telling the IRS how to treat the payment.
Code 1 means an early distribution (before age 59½) with no known exception, which typically triggers a 10% additional tax. Code 7 means a normal distribution from someone who has reached 59½. Code G indicates a direct rollover to another eligible retirement plan, which is not a taxable event.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 The code on your 1099-R drives the tax treatment, so check it carefully. If Fidelity assigns Code 1 but you qualify for a penalty exception (disability, substantially equal payments, medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of AGI, and others), you claim the exception on Form 5329 when you file.8Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics, Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions
Form 1099-DA: Digital Asset Transactions
Starting with the 2025 tax year, Fidelity reports sales of digital assets like bitcoin and ethereum on the new Form 1099-DA. For 2025 transactions, Fidelity reports gross proceeds but is not required to report cost basis. Beginning January 1, 2026, brokers must also report cost basis for covered digital assets purchased on or after that date.9Internal Revenue Service. Final Regulations and Related IRS Guidance for Reporting by Brokers on Sales and Exchanges of Digital Assets The form does not calculate your gain or loss for you. You still need to do that math yourself and report it on Form 8949.
One nuance worth knowing: as of 2026, the wash sale rule does not explicitly apply to cryptocurrency because the IRS treats crypto as property rather than stock or securities. Congress has proposed extending wash sale treatment to digital assets, and the IRS could challenge aggressive loss-harvesting strategies under broader economic substance principles.
Form 5498: IRA Contributions
Form 5498 is different from the 1099 series. It reports contributions you made to an IRA (Traditional, Roth, SEP, or SIMPLE) and the account’s fair market value as of December 31. You don’t need this form to file your return, since you already know what you contributed, but the IRS uses it to verify your contribution amounts and to calculate future Required Minimum Distributions based on the year-end balance.10Fidelity. What Is Form 5498?
Because IRA contributions for a given tax year can be made through the following April filing deadline, Fidelity does not file Form 5498 until May. You may see the form arrive well after you have already filed your return.10Fidelity. What Is Form 5498?
HSA Forms: 1099-SA and 5498-SA
If you hold a Fidelity Health Savings Account, Fidelity reports your HSA distributions on Form 1099-SA and your contributions and year-end balance on Form 5498-SA. Withdrawals used for qualified medical expenses are tax-free; withdrawals for anything else are taxed as ordinary income and hit with a 20% penalty if you are under 65. After 65, the penalty disappears, but the income tax still applies to non-medical withdrawals.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 223, Health Savings Accounts
When Fidelity’s Tax Forms Arrive
Most 1099 forms must be sent to you by January 31, though some types can go out as late as February 15. In practice, Fidelity’s consolidated 1099 often arrives in late January or early February. If your account holds investments that are slow to finalize their tax data, such as certain mutual funds, REITs, or partnerships, your form may arrive up to 30 days after the February 15 deadline, pushing into mid-March.12Fidelity. 1099 Form Guide
Fidelity sometimes issues corrected 1099s after the original mailing if it receives updated information from fund companies or discovers errors. If you have already filed by the time a corrected form arrives and the change affects your tax liability, you may need to file an amended return. It pays to wait until you are confident your forms are final before filing, especially if your account holds complex investments.
What Fidelity Doesn’t Report Each Year
The forms above cover taxable events. Activity inside a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), or 403(b) is not reported to the IRS on an annual 1099. Dividends, interest, and realized gains that occur inside those accounts stay off your return until you actually take a distribution, and Fidelity files a 1099-R only in the year you do. For workplace plans that Fidelity administers, contribution reporting flows through the employer’s plan rather than through a form to you.
Withholding Fidelity Remits to the IRS
Beyond reporting income, Fidelity is sometimes required to withhold taxes before sending you money. Withholding is a prepayment toward your eventual tax bill, not a separate tax. Any amounts withheld get credited to you when you file.
Mandatory 20% on Rollover-Eligible Retirement Distributions
If you take a distribution from a 401(k) or 403(b) that is eligible for rollover and have the check made payable to you rather than directly to another plan, Fidelity must withhold 20% for federal taxes. This is true even if you plan to roll the money over within 60 days.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3405, Special Rules for Pensions, Annuities, and Certain Other Deferred Income The only way to avoid it is to choose a direct rollover, where Fidelity sends the funds straight to the receiving plan or IRA. This is one of the most common traps in retirement account transfers: if Fidelity withholds 20% and you want to roll over the full amount, you need to come up with that 20% from other funds and deposit the total within 60 days.
Backup Withholding at 24%
Backup withholding is a flat 24% Fidelity applies to your investment income (dividends, interest, broker proceeds) when the IRS flags a problem with your account. The most common trigger is a mismatch between the name and Taxpayer Identification Number on your account.14Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding Fidelity can also be required to begin backup withholding if you fail to certify that you are not subject to it due to prior underreporting of income.
When this happens, the IRS sends Fidelity a notice (called a B-Notice), and Fidelity notifies you that you need to provide a corrected Form W-9. Until the issue is resolved, Fidelity withholds 24% from all reportable payments. The withheld amount is credited on your tax return, so you are not losing the money permanently, but having a quarter of your investment income diverted can create real cash flow problems.15Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding B Program
Getting Prior-Year Forms
If you need prior-year tax forms for an audit or amended return, Fidelity makes consolidated 1099s and Form 5498 available online for roughly seven years.16Fidelity. Fidelity, Statements and Records For documents older than that, contact Fidelity’s customer service to request an archive search, which may take longer and could involve additional steps to verify your identity.