Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Form 1099-S is the information return the closing person files to report the gross proceeds of a real estate sale, and the seller gets a copy. Getting one does not mean the sale is taxable, and not getting one does not mean it is not: a sale of a main home can be reportable even when the gain may be excludable, and a sale of a residence for $250,000 or less (or $500,000 with a married assurance) can skip the form when the seller gives a signed certification.
IRS worksheets read line by line: Pub 523 Worksheet 1, Pub 523 Worksheet 2 and Pub 523 Worksheet 3.
More IRS forms and schedules for individual filers, read line by line: Form 8828 instructions.
Sales of business property (Form 4797), passive activity losses (Form 8582) and depreciation (Form 4562) for 2025, read line by line: Form 4797 line 1a.
The recipient copy of Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC, read box by box: 1099-MISC box 2, 1099-MISC boxes 5, 9, 11 and 1099-MISC boxes 13a, 13b and 14.
More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form W-9 instructions.
What Form 1099-S is and who files it
The IRS titles the form “Proceeds From Real Estate Transactions” and describes the job in one line: “File Form 1099-S, Proceeds From Real Estate Transactions, to report the sale or exchange of real estate.”
The seller does not file it. The instructions put the duty on the closing person: “Generally, the person responsible for closing the transaction, as explained in (1) below, is required to file Form 1099-S.” Where a settlement agent is listed, “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 the closing: “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.”
The parties can also settle it in advance: “You can enter into a written agreement at or before closing to designate who must file Form 1099-S for the transaction.” The seller’s job is smaller. The filer must ask for the seller’s taxpayer identification number: “You must request the transferor’s TIN no later than the time of closing.” The transferor is the seller, so this is why a closing packet usually includes a Form W-9.
What the boxes report, from the seller’s copy
Copy B, the seller’s copy, carries a short explanation of each box. A summary in the IRS’s own words:
| Box | What the seller’s copy says it shows |
|---|---|
| Box 1 | “Shows the date of closing.” |
| Box 2a | “Shows the total gross proceeds from a real estate transaction, generally the sales price.” |
| Box 2b | “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 2c | Digital asset gross proceeds, new for 2026 sales (see the revision section below) |
| Box 3 | “Shows the address or legal description of the property transferred.” |
| Box 4 | “Shows certain real estate tax on a residence charged to the buyer at settlement.” |
| Box 5 | Reserved for future use |
| Box 6 | “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.” |
| Box 7 | “If checked, shows that you are a foreign person (nonresident alien, foreign partnership, foreign estate, or foreign trust).” |
Two points matter most to sellers. First, box 2a is a sales figure, not a profit figure: “Do not reduce gross proceeds by any expenses paid by the transferor, such as sales commissions, deed preparation, advertising, and legal expense.” The following is an illustration with made-up amounts, not an IRS example:
| Item | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $400,000 | Illustration |
| Commissions and closing expenses paid by the seller (input to the computed rows) | $24,000 | Illustration |
| Total gross proceeds shown in box 2a | $400,000 | Not reduced by seller expenses |
| Sale price minus those expenses | $376,000 | Computed here: $400,000 minus $24,000 |
In the illustration, the $376,000 is the sale price of $400,000 minus $24,000 of expenses. Box 2a still reports $400,000 and so the form alone does not tell the seller the gain. Basis and selling costs are worked out on the return; see the home sale taxes page.
Second, box 4 can change a deduction. The seller’s copy says “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.” It then adds “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).”
Receiving or not receiving one does not decide taxability
The reporting rule follows the type of transaction, not the tax result. The instructions say “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.” The example they give is a home: “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.”
The reverse also holds. Some transactions are outside the reporting rule altogether, and the instructions say of them: “The following is a list of transactions that are not reportable; however, you may choose to report them.” The list includes “Any transaction that is not a sale or exchange, including a bequest, a gift”, “A transfer in full or partial satisfaction of a debt secured by the property.” and “A de minimis transfer for less than $600.” Whether a gain is taxable is a return question, and the seller’s copy says where to start: “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).” The state side is separate; see state tax on home sale profit.
The principal residence exception and the certification
The most common reason a seller gets no Form 1099-S is the first exception in the instructions. It covers a “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 the residence is the seller’s principal residence under section 121 and that “the full amount of the gain on such sale is excludable from gross income under section 121.”
| Situation | What the instructions say happens |
|---|---|
| Seller certifies the residence is the principal residence and the full gain is excludable under section 121, sale of $250,000 or less | Not reportable if an acceptable certification is received |
| Same certification with an assurance that the seller is married | The dollar limit in the sentence above becomes $500,000 |
| Joint sellers | A certification from each seller, or Form 1099-S for any seller who does not certify |
| No certification obtained | Form 1099-S must be filed and furnished |
For a married seller: “If the certification includes an assurance that the seller is married”, the instructions apply the same sentence with $500,000 in place of $250,000. For joint sellers: “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.”
The certification has content requirements beyond the amount test: “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 “The certification must be signed by each seller under penalties of perjury.”
The IRS points to a sample format, with a caveat: “The sample certification does not include an assurance that there has been no period of nonqualified use and an assurance that the full amount of the gain from the sale is excludable under section 121.” Timing and records are the filer’s: “You may get the certification any time on or before January 31 of the year after the year of sale.” “You must keep the certification for 4 years after the year of sale.”
The exception is optional for the filer, not for you to demand: “You are not required to obtain the certification. However, if you do not obtain it, you must file and furnish Form 1099-S.” Whether a particular seller can exclude the gain is a section 121 question for the return; the exclusion calculator and the second home versus primary residence page cover the ownership and use tests, and the over 65 page covers age questions.
Where the sale goes on the seller’s return
The seller’s copy sends the reader in different directions depending on the property: “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.” For a main home it refers to the Schedule D instructions, as quoted above. On exchanges: “If box 6 is checked and you received or will receive like-kind property, you must file Form 8824.”
Those forms have their own CMG explainers: Schedule D, Form 4797, Form 8824, and Form 8949, which feeds Schedule D. An inherited property has its own rules; see inherited home sale capital gains. A move for work can matter too: partial exclusion for a job relocation. For the whole picture, start with the home sales and capital gains guide.
Several sellers, spouses and other special cases
A separate form goes to each seller: “For multiple transferors of the same real estate, you must file a separate Form 1099-S for each transferor.” The filer asks the sellers to allocate the proceeds. Spouses are treated as one seller in the usual case: “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.”
The filer cannot bill you for the form: “You may not charge your customers a separate fee for complying with the Form 1099-S filing requirements.” A foreign seller is flagged in box 7, and the instructions refer to Form 8288 for the withholding side.
Which revision applies
The edition read for this page is the Instructions for Form 1099-S (Rev. December 2026) with the December 2026 form, which is the revision irs.gov served when it was read on 2026-10-08. A later revision can change box numbers or thresholds, so check the revision printed on the form you receive. On how revisions are dated, the IRS says “the year of the revision date is the first year for which issuers are to use the form to report amounts.” The instructions apply that rule to this edition: “Use the December 2026 revisions of Form 1099-S and these instructions to file 2026 information with the IRS in early 2027.” “Do not use these revisions for prior years.” The 2026 form adds the digital asset boxes: “Beginning in tax year 2026, digital assets will be reported on Form 1099-S when used in the sale or exchange of real estate.” “For the latest information about developments related to Form 1099-S and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were published, go to IRS.gov/Form1099S.”
Common mistakes
- Treating the absence of a Form 1099-S as proof the sale is not reportable on your return. The instructions say the form follows the transaction type, and the seller’s copy sends you to the Schedule D instructions to decide what goes on your return.
- Reading box 2a as your profit. The instructions say not to reduce gross proceeds by the seller’s commissions, deed preparation, advertising or legal expense.
- Assuming the principal residence exception applies automatically. It depends on an acceptable signed certification, and the instructions say that without one the filer must file and furnish Form 1099-S.
Related: home sale taxes, home sale capital gains exclusion calculator, Schedule D, and Form 8949.
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- Instructions for Form 1099-S (Rev. December 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1099s.pdf
- Form 1099-S: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099s.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 8, 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.