Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Lines 11 and 12 collect long-term gains and losses that do not come from your own stock and fund sales on Form 8949. Line 11 takes amounts that arrive on other IRS forms, such as Form 4797, Form 2439 and Form 6252. Line 12 takes the net long-term gain or loss shown on a Schedule K-1 from a partnership, S corporation, estate or trust. Both lines feed the net long-term total on line 15.
Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form 2439 boxes 1a to 1d.
What line 11 asks for
Line 11 is a catch-all line, and its caption names the forms that feed it. It asks for “Gain from Form 4797, Part I;” long-term “gain from Forms 2439 and 6252”; and long-term “gain or (loss) from Forms 4684, 6781, and 8824”. This page sits inside the larger Schedule D (Form 1040) walkthrough, and line 11 is the first of the two lines that pull in totals from outside Form 8949.
Which form sends the amount
The instructions list what each form is for. Schedule D is used to “report a gain from Form 2439 or 6252 or Part I of Form 4797;” and “report a gain or loss from Form 4684, 6781, or 8824;” so each of those forms ends up on this line.
Form 4797 covers business property: “Use Form 4797 to report the following.” The list starts with “Real property used in your trade or business;”. For casualty and theft, “Use Form 4684 to report involuntary conversions of property due to casualty or theft.” For options and futures, “Use Form 6781 to report gains and losses from section 1256 contracts and straddles.” For exchanges, “Use Form 8824 to report” like-kind exchanges. See the Form 4797 page for that form, and Form 8824 for exchanges.
Installment sales come through Form 6252: “Use Form 6252 to report the sale on the installment method.”
Form 2439 and undistributed gains
A mutual fund or real estate trust can send Form 2439 for gains it kept rather than paid out. The instructions say: “Include on Schedule D, line 11, the amount from box 1a of Form 2439.” “This represents your share of the undistributed” long-term “capital gains of the regulated investment company (including a mutual fund) or real estate investment trust.” Tax already paid by the fund is handled elsewhere: “Include on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 13a, the tax paid as shown in box 2 of Form 2439.”
What line 12 asks for
Line 12 carries the K-1 amounts. The caption asks for net long-term “gain or (loss) from partnerships, S corporations, estates, and trusts from Schedule(s) K-1”. The instructions describe the same group when they say Schedule D is used to “report a gain or loss from a partnership, S corporation, estate, or trust;”
Sort the K-1 amounts by holding period before you enter them. The schedule is split so that short-term “gains or losses in Part I.” go on line 5, and long-term “gains or losses in Part II.” go on this line. The matching Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) box 10 page explains one K-1 box that often lands on a long-term line.
Where the number comes from
Every figure on lines 11 and 12 is carried over from another form: Form 4797 Part I, Form 2439, Form 6252, Form 4684, Form 6781, Form 8824, or a Schedule K-1. Finish those forms first, then copy the long-term result to the line. Do not retype detail from Form 8949 here, because lines 8a to 10 already hold the transactions reported there.
Where it goes next
Lines 11 and 12 are added into the Part II total. Line 15 reads “Combine lines 8a through 14 in column (h).” “Then, go to Part III on the back”. Line 15 then joins the short-term result from line 7 on line 16 of Part III. The next page covers Schedule D lines 13 to 15.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Schedule D (Form 1040) and its 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18 (byte-identical to the archived copies). They are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The schedule says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” Check the tax year printed on the schedule you are filling in and use the line numbers on that year’s schedule, because a different year’s schedule can number or word its lines differently.
Common mistakes
- Putting a short-term K-1 amount on line 12. The instructions split the schedule by holding period: “gains or losses in Part II.” belong in the long-term part, and short-term amounts go in Part I.
- Entering a Form 2439 gain but leaving out the tax the fund paid for you. The instructions say “Include on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 13a, the tax paid as shown in box 2 of Form 2439.”
- Reporting an installment sale in full by accident. The instructions say “elect out of the installment method, report the full amount of the gain on Form 8949 on a timely filed return (including extensions) for the year of the sale.”
Related: Schedule D (Form 1040), Form 4797, Form 8824, and Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) box 10.
Sources
- Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040sd.pdf
- Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sd.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 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.