Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Line 13 takes the capital gain distributions that mutual funds and real estate investment trusts paid you, shown in box 2a of Form 1099-DIV. Line 14 is your long-term capital loss carryover from last year, taken from the Capital Loss Carryover Worksheet. Line 15 combines everything in Part II into the net long-term capital gain or loss.
Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form 2439 boxes 1a to 1d and Form 2439 box 2.
IRS worksheets read line by line: Capital Loss Carryover Worksheet.
Line 13: capital gain distributions
The caption is short: “Capital gain distributions. See the instructions”. The instructions explain where the money comes from. “These distributions are paid by a mutual fund (or other regulated investment company) or real estate investment trust from its net realized” long-term “capital gains.” Short-term fund distributions are a different matter: “aren’t treated as capital gains.” “Instead, they are included on Form 1099-DIV as ordinary dividends.”
The entry rule is: “Enter on Schedule D, line 13, the total capital gain distributions paid to you during the year, regardless of how long you held your investment.” “This amount is shown in box 2a of Form 1099-DIV .” The Form 1099-DIV box 2a page walks through that box.
Boxes 2b, 2c and 2d of Form 1099-DIV
Other boxes next to 2a tie to the worksheets. “If there is an amount in box 2b, include that amount on line 11 of the Unrecaptured Section 1250 Gain Worksheet in these instructions if you complete line 19 of Schedule D.” “If there is an amount in box 2d, include that amount on line 4 of the 28% Rate Gain Worksheet in these instructions if you complete line 18 of Schedule D.” “If there is an amount in box 2c, see Exclusion of Gain on Qualified Small Business (QSB) Stock, later.” Those worksheets are covered on the line 19 and line 18 pages.
If the distributions belong to someone else
“If you received capital gain distributions as a nominee” (money paid to you that actually belongs to someone else), the instructions say to “report on Schedule D, line 13, only the amount that belongs to you.”
Line 14: long-term capital loss carryover
Line 14 reads: long-term capital loss carryover. “Enter the amount, if any, from line 13 of your Capital Loss Carryover Worksheet in the instructions”. The worksheet is not for everyone: “Use this worksheet to figure your capital loss carryovers from 2024 to 2025 if your 2024 Schedule D, line 21, is a loss and” the other conditions on the worksheet page apply. If they do not, the worksheet says “Otherwise, you don’t have any carryovers.”
If you and a spouse once filed jointly and now file separately, “any capital loss carryover from the joint return can be deducted only on the return of the spouse who actually had the loss.” The loss that created the carryover is on the line 21 page of this series.
Line 15: net long-term capital gain or loss
Line 15 asks you to “Combine lines 8a through 14 in column (h).” “Then, go to Part III on the back”. That combines the totals from Form 8949 and Form 1099-B, the gains and losses from other forms and K-1s on lines 11 and 12, the distributions on line 13, and the carryover on line 14. On the schedule, “Enter negative amounts in parentheses.”
Where the number comes from
Line 13 comes from your Forms 1099-DIV, line 14 from last year’s Schedule D through the carryover worksheet, and line 15 from the lines above it. See the capital loss harvest helper if you want a planning view of how losses offset gains.
Where it goes next
Line 15 moves to Part III. Line 16 says “Combine lines 7 and 15 and enter the result”. Read lines 16 and 17 for what the schedule does with the result, and see Schedule D (Form 1040) for the whole form.
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
- Counting short-term fund distributions as capital gain distributions. The instructions say they “aren’t treated as capital gains.” and are included on Form 1099-DIV as ordinary dividends.
- Entering the full Form 1099-DIV amount when some of it is a nominee amount. The instructions say to “report on Schedule D, line 13, only the amount that belongs to you.”
- Taking a joint-return carryover on the wrong separate return. The worksheet says “any capital loss carryover from the joint return can be deducted only on the return of the spouse who actually had the loss.”
Related: Schedule D (Form 1040), Form 1099-DIV box 2a, the capital loss harvest helper, and Form 1040.
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.