Skip to content
Independent money guidance
Clear Money Guide
Start here
Menu

1099-B Box 2: Short-Term or Long-Term Gain or Loss

Updated September 30, 2026. Quick answer: Box 2 of Form 1099-B shows whether the broker reports the gain or loss as short term or long term. One form does not mix the two. The broker need not account for events outside the account.

More IRS forms and schedules for individual filers, read line by line: Form 6781 instructions.

Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form 1099-CAP boxes 1 to 5.

Schedule D and Schedule E (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule D line 1a, Schedule D lines 1b, 2 and 3 and Schedule D line 8a.

Form 8949 for 2025, read code by code: Form 8949 code S, Form 8949 code Y and Form 8949 code Z.

Form 1040 for 2025, read line by line: Form 1040 line 7.

Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form 1099-DA boxes 1c, 1d and 1e, Form 1099-DA boxes 1h and 1i and Form 1099-DA boxes 2 and 9.

The recipient copy of Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC, read box by box: 1099-MISC box 8.

The shareholder’s Schedule K-1 (Form 1120-S), boxes 13 to 19: Schedule K-1 box 16.

The shareholder’s Schedule K-1 (Form 1120-S), read box by box: Schedule K-1 boxes 7 and 8 and Schedule K-1 box 10.

The partner’s Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), read box by box: Schedule K-1 box 11, Schedule K-1 box 19 and Schedule K-1 box 20 O and P.

The partner’s Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), read box by box: Schedule K-1 box 8.

Price a sale against the 2026 capital gains rates: capital gains tax calculator.

The IRS form or worksheet behind this, read line by line: Form 8949 instructions and Schedule D instructions.

What Box 2 asks for

The instruction reads: “Determine whether the gain or loss is short term or long term under Section 1222, and whether any portion of the gain or loss is ordinary.” And: “You may not report both short term and long term gain or loss on the same Form 1099-B.” The 1099-B instructions read here are the 2026 edition on irs.gov. 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.

What the broker must take into account

The list includes “Consider any information reported on a transfer statement.” and two rules about how the shares arrived: “Apply the rules for stock acquired from a decedent.” and “Apply the rules for stock acquired as a gift.” For a short sale, the instruction is “In the case of a short sale, report whether any gain or loss on the closing of the short sale is short term or long” term, measured by the acquisition date of the security delivered to close it.

What the broker is not required to consider

The instructions say “You are not required to consider other transactions, elections, or events occurring outside the account when determining whether the gain or loss on the sale is short term or long term.” So Box 2 reflects what the broker can see. Your own holding period can differ if you held the shares elsewhere first.

Where this sits with the wash sale box

A wash sale can affect the basis of the replacement shares, described on the Box 1g page. The proceeds and basis boxes are on the Box 1d and 1e page.

Common mistakes

  • Expecting one Form 1099-B to show both short-term and long-term results. The instruction says not to report both on the same form.
  • Treating Box 2 as final. The broker need not consider events outside the account.
  • Assuming inherited or gifted shares follow the ordinary purchase date. The instruction lists separate rules for each.

Related: 1099-B Box 1g Wash Sale Loss Disallowed Explained, 1099-B Box 1d Proceeds and Box 1e Cost Basis Explained, and the capital gains harvest window.

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

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.