Dividends and Distributions

2011

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Instructions for Form
1099-DIV
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless
otherwise noted.

What’s New
Pilot program for truncating an individual’s identifying
number on paper payee statement has ended. Filers of
Form 1099-DIV must show the recipient’s complete identifying
number on all copies of the form.

Reminder
In addition to these specific instructions, you should also use
the 2011 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns
(Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, and W-2G).
Those general instructions include information about the
following topics.
• Backup withholding.
• Electronic reporting requirements.
• Penalties.
• Who must file (nominee/middleman).
• When and where to file.
• Taxpayer identification numbers.
• Statements to recipients.
• Corrected and void returns.
• Other general topics.
You can get the general instructions from IRS.gov or by
calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676).

Specific Instructions
File Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions, for each
person:
• To whom you have paid dividends (including capital gain
dividends) and other distributions on stock of $10 or more,
• For whom you have withheld and paid any foreign tax on
dividends and other distributions on stock,
• For whom you have withheld any federal income tax on
dividends under the backup withholding rules, or
• To whom you have paid $600 or more as part of a liquidation.

Dividends
If you make a payment that may be a dividend but you are
unable to determine whether any part of the payment is a
dividend by the time you must file Form 1099-DIV, the entire
payment must be reported as a dividend. See the regulations
under section 6042 for a definition of dividends.

Exceptions
You are not required to report on Form 1099-DIV the following:
1. Taxable dividend distributions from life insurance
contracts and employee stock ownership plans are reported on
Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities,
Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts,
etc.
2. Exempt-interest dividends from regulated investment
companies retain their tax-exempt status, but are reported on
Form 1099-INT, Interest Income (see section 852(b)(5)).
3. Substitute payments in lieu of dividends. For payments
received by a broker on behalf of a customer in lieu of dividends
as a result of a loan of a customer’s securities, see the
instructions for box 8 in the 2011 Instructions for Form
1099-MISC.

Substitute payments in lieu of dividends may be
TIP reported on a composite statement to the recipient with
Form 1099-DIV. See Pub. 1179, General Rules and
Specifications for Substitute Forms 1096, 1097, 1098, 1099,
3921, 3922, 5498, 8935, W-2G, and 1042-S.
4. Payments made to certain payees including a
corporation, tax-exempt organization, any IRA, Archer MSA,
health savings account (HSA), U.S. agency, state, the District of
Columbia, U.S. possession, or registered securities or
commodities dealer.
Certain distributions commonly referred to as
“dividends” are actually interest and are to be reported
CAUTION
on Form 1099-INT. These include so-called “dividends”
on deposit or on share accounts in cooperative banks, credit
unions, domestic building and loan associations, domestic and
federal savings and loan associations, and mutual
savings banks.

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Qualified Dividends
Except as provided below, qualified dividends are dividends
paid during the tax year from domestic corporations and
qualified foreign corporations. For individuals, estates, and
trusts, qualified dividends are taxed at a maximum rate of 15%
(generally, the rate is zero for individuals whose other income is
taxed at the 10% or 15% rate).
Exceptions. The following dividends are not qualified
dividends.
• Dividends the recipient received on any share of stock held
for less than 61 days during the 121-day period that began 60
days before the ex-dividend date. See the instructions for box
1b on page 3. When determining the number of days the
recipient held the stock, you cannot count certain days during
which the recipient’s risk of loss was diminished. The
ex-dividend date is the first date following the declaration of a
dividend on which the purchaser of a stock is not entitled to
receive the next dividend payment. When counting the number
of days the recipient held the stock, include the day the
recipient disposed of the stock but not the day the recipient
acquired it.
• Dividends attributable to periods totaling more than 366 days
that the recipient received on any share of preferred stock held
for less than 91 days during the 181-day period that began 90
days before the ex-dividend date. See the instructions for box
1b on page 3. When determining the number of days the
recipient held the stock, you cannot count certain days during
which the recipient’s risk of loss was diminished. Preferred
dividends attributable to periods totaling less than 367 days are
subject to the 61-day holding period rule above.
• Dividends that relate to payments that the recipient is
obligated to make with respect to short sales or positions in
substantially similar or related property.
• Dividends paid by a regulated investment company that are
not treated as qualified dividend income under section 854.
• Dividends paid by a real estate investment trust that are not
treated as qualified dividend income under section 857(c).
• Deductible dividends paid on employer securities. See
Section 404(k) Dividends, on page 2.
Qualified foreign corporation. A foreign corporation is a
qualified foreign corporation if it is:
1. Incorporated in a possession of the United States or
2. Eligible for benefits of a comprehensive income tax treaty
with the United States that the Treasury Department determines

Cat. No. 27978B

is satisfactory for this purpose and that includes an exchange of
information program.

January 1, 2012, the exclusion is 100%. A 60% exclusion may
be allowed if the stock is empowerment zone business stock
acquired after December 21, 2000. However, the 75% and
100% exclusion increases do not apply to empowerment zone
stock. If any part of the capital gain distribution reported in box
2a may qualify for this exclusion (taking into consideration the
recipient’s holding period), report the gain in box 2c, and furnish
the recipient a statement that reports separately for each
designated section 1202 gain the:
• Name of the corporation that issued the stock that was sold,
• Date(s) on which the RIC acquired the stock,
• Date sold,
• Recipient’s part of the sales price,
• Recipient’s part of the RIC’s basis in the stock, and
• Amount of the recipient’s section 1202 gain and the exclusion
percentage.
Qualified tax credit bonds. If a RIC or REIT holds any
qualified tax credit bonds, any interest that the RIC or REIT
recognizes on the bonds is included in the RIC’s or REIT’s
gross income. See section 54A and Notice 2009-15, 2009-6
I.R.B. 449, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2009-06_IRB/ar09.html.
RICs can make an election to distribute any credits allowed to
shareholders or beneficiaries. Report tax credit bond credits
distributed by a RIC or REIT on Form 1097-BTC.

For a list of income tax treaties of the United States that
TIP (a) are comprehensive, (b) include an information
exchange program, and (c) have been determined by
the Treasury Department to be satisfactory for this purpose, see
Notice 2006-101, 2006-47 I.R.B. 930, available at www.irs.gov/
irb/2006-47_IRB/ar07.html.
If the foreign corporation does not meet either 1 or 2 above,
then it may be treated as a qualified foreign corporation for any
dividend paid by the corporation if the stock associated with the
dividend paid is readily tradable on an established securities
market in the United States. See Notice 2003-71, 2003-43
I.R.B. 922, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2003-43_IRB/ar10.html,
for more information on when a stock may be considered to be
readily tradable. For additional requirements that must be met,
see Notice 2006-3, 2006-3 I.R.B. 306, available at www.irs.gov/
irb/2006-03_IRB/ar11.html.
For guidance on the extent to which distributions,
TIP inclusions, and other amounts received by, or included
in the income of, individual shareholders as ordinary
income from foreign corporations subject to certain anti-deferral
regimes may be treated as qualified dividends, see Notice
2004-70, 2004-44 I.R.B. 724, available at www.irs.gov/irb/
2004-44_IRB/ar09.html.

Restricted Stock
For information about reporting dividends on restricted stock,
see Rev. Proc. 80-11, 1980-1 C.B. 616, distinguished by Rev.
Proc. 83-38, 1983-1 C.B. 773, and Rev. Rul. 83-22, 1983-1
C.B. 17.

Section 404(k) Dividends
Report as ordinary dividends in box 1a of Form 1099-DIV
payments of 404(k) dividends directly from the corporation to
the plan participants or their beneficiaries.
Section 404(k) dividends are not subject to backup
withholding. Also, these dividends are not eligible for the
zero and 15% capital gains rates (see Exceptions under
Qualified Dividends on page 1).

Widely Held Fixed Investment Trusts (WHFITs)
Trustees and middlemen must report the gross amount of
dividend income attributable to a trust income holder (TIH) in
the appropriate box on Form 1099-DIV, if that amount exceeds
$10. If the trustee or middleman provides WHFIT information
using the safe harbor rules in Regulations section 1.671-5(f)(1)
or (g)(1), the trustee or middleman must determine the amounts
reported on all Forms 1099 under section 1.671-5(f)(2) or (g)(2),
as appropriate.
Due date exception and other requirements for furnishing
the tax information statement to TIHs. A tax information
statement that includes the information provided to the IRS on
all Forms 1099 filed for the calendar year with respect to the
TIH’s interest in the WHFIT, as well as additional information
identified in Regulations section 1.671-5(e), must be provided to
the TIHs. The written tax information statement furnished to the
TIH for 2011 is due on or before March 15, 2012. The amount
of an item of trust expense that is attributable to a TIH must be
included on the tax information statement provided to the TIH
and is not required to be included in box 5 on the Form
1099-DIV.

RICs and REITs
Qualified dividends. If any part of the total ordinary dividends
reported in box 1a is qualified dividends, report the qualified
dividends in box 1b.
For guidance pertaining to dividends designated by
TIP RICs and REITs, see Notice 2004-39, 2004-22 I.R.B.
982, (capital gain dividends of RICs and REITs)
available at www.irs.gov/irb/2004-22_IRB/ar11.html and Rev.
Rul. 2005-31, 2005-21 I.R.B. 1084, (limitations applicable to
dividends received from RICs) available at www.irs.gov/irb/
2005-21_IRB/ar07.html.
Dividend payment delayed until January. If a regulated
investment company (RIC) or a real estate investment trust
(REIT) declares a dividend in October, November, or December
payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a
month, the dividends are treated as paid by the RIC or REIT
and received by the recipients on December 31 of such year as
long as the dividends are actually paid by the RIC or REIT
during January of the following year. Report the dividends on
Form 1099-DIV for the year preceding the January they are
actually paid. See sections 852(b)(7) and 857(b)(9) for RICs
and REITs respectively.
If a dividend paid in January is subject to backup
withholding, withhold when the dividend is actually paid.
Therefore, backup withhold in January, deposit the withholding
when appropriate, and reflect it on Form 945, Annual Return of
Withheld Federal Income Tax, for the year withheld. However,
since the dividend is reportable on Form 1099-DIV for the prior
year, the related backup withholding is also reportable on the
prior year Form 1099-DIV.
Qualified small business stock — RICs. Under section 1202,
a 50% exclusion may be allowed on the gain from the sale or
exchange of qualified small business stock issued after August
10, 1993, and held for more than 5 years. For qualified small
business stock acquired after February 17, 2009, and before
September 28, 2010, the exclusion is 75%. For qualified small
business stock acquired after September 27, 2010, and before

For more filing requirements, see the 2011 General
Instructions for Certain Information Returns.

Statements to Recipients
If you are required to file Form 1099-DIV, you must provide a
statement to the recipient. For information about the
requirement to furnish an official or acceptable substitute Form
1099-DIV to recipients, see part M in the 2011 General
Instructions for Certain Information Returns.

2nd TIN Not.
You may enter an “X” in this box if you were notified by the IRS
twice within 3 calendar years that the payee provided an
incorrect taxpayer identification number (TIN). If you mark this
box, the IRS will not send you any further notices about this
account. However, if you received both IRS notices in the same
year, or if you received them in different years but they both
related to information returns filed for the same year, do not
check the box at this time. For purposes of the two notices in
3-years rule, you are considered to have received one notice
and you are not required to send a second “B” notice to the
taxpayer on receipt of the second notice. See part N in the 2011

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Instructions for Form 1099-DIV (2011)

Box 2d. Collectibles (28%) Gain

General Instructions for Certain Information Returns for more
information.

Enter any amount included in box 2a that is a 28% rate gain
from sales or exchanges of collectibles.

For information on the TIN Matching System offered by
TIP the IRS, see the 2011 General Instructions for Certain
Information Returns.

Box 3. Nondividend Distributions
Enter nondividend distributions, if determinable.

Account Number

File Form 5452, Corporate Report of Nondividend
TIP Distributions, if you are a corporation and paid
nondividend distributions to shareholders.

The account number is required if you have multiple accounts
for a recipient for whom you are filing more than one Form
1099-DIV. Additionally, the IRS encourages you to designate an
account number for all Forms 1099-DIV that you file. See part L
in the 2011 General Instructions for Certain Information
Returns.

Box 4. Federal Income Tax Withheld
Enter backup withholding. For example, if a recipient does not
furnish its TIN to you in the manner required, you must backup
withhold at a 28% rate on certain dividend payments reported
on this form. Use Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer
Identification Number and Certification, to request the TIN of the
recipient. For foreign recipients, use the applicable Form W-8.
See the Instructions for the Requester of Forms W-8BEN,
W-8ECI, W-8EXP, and W-8IMY.

Box 1a. Total Ordinary Dividends
Enter dividends, including dividends from money market funds,
net short-term capital gains from mutual funds, and other
distributions on stock. Include reinvested dividends and section
404(k) dividends paid directly from the corporation. Include as a
dividend the amount of the recipient’s share of investment
expenses that you report in box 5.

Box 5. Investment Expenses
Enter the recipient’s pro rata share of certain amounts
deductible by a nonpublicly offered RIC in computing its taxable
income. This amount is includible in the recipient’s gross
income under section 67(c) and must also be included in box
1a. Do not include any investment expenses in box 1b.

An S corporation reports as dividends on Form
1099-DIV only distributions made during 2011 out of
CAUTION
accumulated earnings and profits. See section 1368 for
more information.

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Box 1b. Qualified Dividends

Box 6. Foreign Tax Paid

Enter the portion of the dividends in box 1a that qualify for the
zero and 15% capital gains rates. Include dividends for which it
is impractical to determine if the section 1(h)(11)(B)(iii) holding
period requirement has been met. See Qualified Dividends on
page 1.
You must report a dividend paid by a foreign corporation
according to the guidance provided in Notice 2003-79, 2003-50
I.R.B. 1206, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2003-50_IRB/ar12.html
and Notice 2004-71, 2004-45, I.R.B. 793, available at www.irs.
gov/irb/2004-45_IRB/ar09.html, which contain the rules for
reporting the dividend for tax years 2003 and 2004. These rules
are extended for 2005 and subsequent tax years by Notice
2006-3, 2006-3 I.R.B. 306, available at www.irs.gov/irb/
2006-03_IRB/ar11.html

Enter foreign tax withheld and paid on dividends and other
distributions on stock. A RIC must report only the amount it
elects to pass through to the recipient. Report this amount in
U.S. dollars.

Box 7. Foreign Country or U.S. Possession
Enter the name of the foreign country or U.S. possession to
which the withheld tax applies.
RICs — special reporting instructions. Do not complete box
7. Under Regulations section 1.853-4, country-by-country
reporting to shareholders for the amount reported in box 6 is not
required. The requirement to file a separate statement to the
Internal Revenue Service has been modified to require filing a
statement that elects the application of section 853 for the tax
year with the return for the tax year. See Regulations section
1.853-4 for more information. Do not send the statement with
the Forms 1096 and 1099.

Box 2a. Total Capital Gain Distr.
Enter total capital gain distributions (long-term). Include all
amounts shown in boxes 2b, 2c, and 2d.
For more information about reporting amounts in boxes
TIP 2b through 2d, see section 1(h).

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CAUTION

Boxes 8 and 9 apply only to corporations in partial or
complete liquidation. Do not include these amounts in
box 1a or 1b.

Box 2b. Unrecap. Sec. 1250 Gain

Box 8. Cash Liquidation Distr.

Enter any amount included in box 2a that is an unrecaptured
section 1250 gain from certain depreciable real property.

Enter cash distributed as part of a liquidation.

Box 2c. Section 1202 Gain

Box 9. Noncash Liquidation Distr.
Enter noncash distributions made as part of a liquidation. Show
the fair market value as of the date of distribution.

Enter any amount included in box 2a that is a section 1202 gain
from certain qualified small business stock. See Qualified small
business stock — RICs on page 2.

Instructions for Form 1099-DIV (2011)

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