Updated September 30, 2026. Quick answer: Box 4 of Form 1099-DIV is backup withholding, meaning tax the payer held back. Box 7 is foreign tax paid on the dividends and Box 8 names the country. Boxes 14 to 16 carry state information only.
Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form 1099-PATR boxes 1, 2, 3 and 5 and Form 1099-PATR box 4.
Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form W-2G box 4, Form W-2G boxes 9, 11 and 12 and Form W-2G slot machine winnings.
Foreign tax credit (Form 1116) and alternative minimum tax (Form 6251) for 2025, read line by line: Form 1116 line 1a, Form 1116 lines 9 to 14 and Form 1116 lines 25 to 32.
Schedule A and Schedule B (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule A lines 6 and 7, Schedule B lines 5 and 6 and Schedule B line 7.
Schedule 3 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 3 line 1.
Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form 1099-R box 4.
Related reading on this site: FBAR deadline 2027.
The recipient copy of Form 1099-G or 1099-K, read box by box: 1099-G boxes 4 to 9, 1099-K box 1a and 1099-K box 4 and boxes 5a to 5l.
More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form 1042-S instructions.
The recipient copy of Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC, read box by box: 1099-NEC box 1a, 1099-NEC box 2 and 1099-MISC box 3.
More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form W-8BEN instructions and Form W-9 instructions.
More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form 5471 instructions.
The IRS form or worksheet behind this, read line by line: Form 8621 instructions.
The IRS form or worksheet behind this, read line by line: Form 1116 and the foreign tax credit.
Box 4: federal income tax withheld
The instruction is “Enter backup withholding.” It continues: “Recipients who have not furnished their TINs to you in the manner required are subject to backup withholding on certain dividend payments reported on this form.” The 1099-DIV instructions read here are the January 2024 revision, which is the edition irs.gov shows as current for that form. Those are instructions to the payer that files the form, so they show what a box is meant to hold, not what tax follows from it. The withholding rate is not stated in these instructions; they point to the general instructions for information returns.
Boxes 7 and 8: foreign tax
Box 7 reads “Enter foreign tax paid on dividends and other distributions on stock.” For a fund: “A RIC must report only the amount it elects to pass through to the recipient.” and “Report this amount in U.S. dollars.” Box 8 is “Enter the name of the foreign country or U.S. possession for which the foreign tax was paid and reported in box 7.”
Boxes 14 to 16: state information
These boxes are optional for the IRS. The instructions say “If you withheld state income taxes on this payment, use the state information boxes to report payments for up to two states.” Whether a state uses the copy is a question for your state tax agency.
Common mistakes
- Reading Box 4 as a refund you are owed. It is tax the payer withheld, reported for your return.
- Expecting the foreign tax in Box 7 to be in euros or another currency. The instruction says to report it in U.S. dollars.
- Looking in Box 7 for a state amount. State withholding goes in Boxes 14 to 16.
Related: 1099-DIV Box 12 and 13: Exempt-Interest Dividends, and 1099-DIV Box 5 Section 199A Dividends and Box 6.
Every box in one place: the 1099-DIV, 1099-INT and 1099-B boxes table. If your withdrawal came from an IRA or 401(k), see the Form 1099-R Box 7 codes.
Sources
- IRS, Instructions for Form 1099-DIV (Rev. January 2024): irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1099div.pdf
- IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-INT and 1099-OID (Rev. January 2024): irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1099int.pdf
- IRS, Instructions for Form 1099-B (2026): irs.gov/instructions/i1099b
Source: the IRS instructions for the filer of each form, read at irs.gov on September 30, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.