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Form 8949 Code N: Nominee Reporting in Column (g) (2025)

Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Code N goes in column (f) of Form 8949 when you received a Form 1099-B, 1099-DA or 1099-S as a nominee for the actual owner of the property. You report the transaction as if you were the owner, then enter the resulting gain as a negative adjustment, or the loss as a positive one, in column (g), so that column (h) is zero.

What code N means

The column (f) table row for N applies when “You received a Form 1099-B, Form 1099-DA, or Form 1099-S (or substitute statement) as a nominee for the actual owner of the property”. In plain terms, the form arrived in your name, but the property belongs to someone else. The Schedule D instructions use a similar phrase for distributions that “were paid to you but actually belong to someone else”.

Form 8949 exists so the numbers the IRS received can be matched to the return. The instructions say “Form 8949 allows you and the IRS to reconcile amounts that were reported to you and the IRS on Form 1099-B, Form 1099-DA, or Form 1099-S (or substitute statements) with the amounts you report on your return.” Code N is how a nominee reconciles a form that reports someone else’s sale.

What to enter in column (g)

The table says “Report the transaction on Form 8949 as you would if you were the actual owner, but also enter any resulting gain as a negative adjustment (in parentheses) in column (g) or any resulting loss as a positive adjustment in column (g).” “As a result of this adjustment, the amount in column (h) should be zero.”

Start with the broker figures. The instructions say that if you receive these forms you should “always report the proceeds (sales price) shown on the form (or statement) in column (d) of Form 8949.” If the basis was reported to the IRS, “always report the basis shown on that form (or statement) in column (e).” Then enter N in column (f). The instructions explain the column: “In order to explain any adjustment to gain (or loss) in column (g), enter the appropriate code(s) in column (f).”

The column (h) arithmetic is spelled out in the instructions: “First, subtract the cost or other basis in column (e) from the proceeds (sales price) in column (d).” “Then take into account any adjustments in column (g).” That is why a gain entered as a negative in column (g) leaves nothing in column (h).

Capital gain distributions received as a nominee

One kind of nominee income does not go through code N. The table says “However, if you received capital gain distributions as a nominee, report them instead, as described under Capital Gain Distributions in the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040).”

The Schedule D instructions then say “If you received capital gain distributions as a nominee (that is, they were paid to you but actually belong to someone else), report on Schedule D, line 13, only the amount that belongs to you.” “Attach a statement showing the full amount you received and the amount you received as a nominee.” Box 2a on a Form 1099-DIV is explained on the Form 1099-DIV box 2a page.

More than one code on a row

If a row needs two codes, the instructions say “If more than one code applies, enter all the codes that apply in alphabetical order (for example, “BOQ”).” “Don’t separate the codes by a space or comma.” For the net adjustment they say “If you entered more than one code in column (f) on the same row, enter the net adjustment in column (g).”

For the box letters that decide which part of the form the row goes on, see Form 8949 boxes A to L.

Where it goes next

Form 8949 feeds the Schedule D. The instructions open with “Complete Form 8949 before you complete lines 1b, 2, 3, 8b, 9, or 10 of Schedule D.” They also say “Include on your Schedule D the totals from all your Parts I and II.” The totals line at the bottom of Part I tells you to “Enter each total here and include on your Schedule D, line 1b (if Box A or Box G above is checked), line 2 (if Box B or Box H above is checked), or line 3 (if Box C or Box I above is checked)”. Part II says to “include on your Schedule D, line 8b (if Box D or Box J above is checked), line 9 (if Box E or Box K above is checked), or line 10 (if Box F or Box L above is checked)”. The Schedule D itself is explained on the Schedule D page, and the full set of form instructions is on Form 8949 instructions.

Edition and line numbers

This page reads the 2025 Form 8949 and its 2025 instructions, along with the 2025 Schedule D instructions where cited, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-17. They are the forms for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. Check the tax year printed on the form you are filling in and use the column letters and codes on that year’s form, because a different year’s form can letter its columns or word its codes differently.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving the broker’s figures off the form. The instructions say “always report the proceeds (sales price) shown on the form (or statement) in column (d) of Form 8949.”
  • Entering a gain as a positive number in column (g). The N row says “enter any resulting gain as a negative adjustment (in parentheses) in column (g)”, and a loss goes in as a positive adjustment.
  • Putting capital gain distributions through code N. The table says “if you received capital gain distributions as a nominee, report them instead, as described under Capital Gain Distributions in the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040).”

Related: Form 8949 instructions, Schedule D, Form 1099-DIV box 2a, and Schedule B.

Sources

Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 17, 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.

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