Fill Out IRS Schedule D (Form 1040) Online
Capital Gains and Losses
Internal Revenue Service
Reports capital gains and losses from the sale of investments and other capital assets.
Reviewed July 2026
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Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses, summarizes the gains and losses from selling capital assets such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, digital assets, and real estate that is not reported elsewhere. It separates short-term results from long-term results because the two are taxed differently.
You can complete Schedule D in the Universal PDF editor: carry in your totals from Form 8949 and your 1099-B forms, work through the summary lines, and download the finished PDF.
What is Schedule D used for
Schedule D aggregates your capital transactions for the year. It covers sales and exchanges of capital assets, gains from certain involuntary conversions, capital gain distributions that are not reported directly on Form 1040, and nonbusiness bad debts.
Individual sale-by-sale detail usually lives on Form 8949, and Schedule D collects the totals, nets short-term against long-term results, and applies the loss limits.
Who needs to file Schedule D
File Schedule D if you sold investments or other capital assets during the year, received capital gain distributions beyond what can be reported directly on Form 1040, have a capital loss carryover from a prior year, or need to report a nonbusiness bad debt. Sales of digital assets such as cryptocurrency are capital transactions for most investors and belong here as well.
How to fill out Schedule D
Start with your brokerage tax documents, then build from the detail up to the summary.
- Report each sale on Form 8949, sorted by whether the broker reported basis to the IRS, unless an exception in the instructions lets you skip 8949 for covered transactions
- Carry the short-term totals to Part I of Schedule D and the long-term totals to Part II
- Add capital gain distributions from Form 1099-DIV and any carryover losses from last year's worksheet
- Net everything in Part III to reach your overall gain or loss
- If you have a net loss, deduct up to the annual limit in the instructions against other income and carry the rest forward
- Use the tax worksheets in the instructions so long-term gains and qualified dividends get capital gains rates
How Schedule D attaches to Form 1040
The final gain or loss from Schedule D flows to Form 1040. On paper returns it is attached in sequence order along with Form 8949. Holding period matters: assets held longer than one year are long-term and generally taxed at lower rates than short-term gains, which are taxed as ordinary income.
Frequently asked questions
Usually yes. Form 8949 lists each individual sale, and Schedule D summarizes the totals. The instructions allow some filers to report covered transactions directly on Schedule D when the broker reported basis and no adjustments are needed.
Yes, for most investors. Selling, trading, or spending digital assets is generally a capital transaction reported on Form 8949 and summarized on Schedule D.
Net capital losses are deductible against ordinary income only up to the annual limit in the official instructions. Anything beyond that carries forward to future years.
Assets held one year or less produce short-term gains taxed at ordinary rates. Assets held longer than one year produce long-term gains, which qualify for lower capital gains rates.
Not always. If your only capital gains are distributions reported on Form 1099-DIV and no other conditions apply, the instructions may let you report them directly on Form 1040 without Schedule D.
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