Internal Revenue Service

Fill out Schedule D online

Capital Gains and Losses

Schedule D is the part of your federal income tax return where you add up your capital gains and losses for the year. It brings together totals from Form 8949, broker statements, other tax forms, Schedules K-1 and loss carryovers from earlier years, and works out the gain, or the loss you can claim, that goes on line 7a of Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR. This edition is for tax year 2025.

Fill out Schedule D Blank form from the IRS

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Edition: Tax year 2025
Pages: 2
Fillable fields: 55
Checked against the IRS: November 8, 2026

GuruPDF is not affiliated with the Internal Revenue Service. This page explains the form in plain words; it is not legal or tax advice. Always check the official instructions before you file. This is the tax year 2025 version; the IRS keeps forms for earlier years.

Who uses Schedule D

People who sold or exchanged stocks, bonds, digital assets or other capital assets in 2025
People with capital gain distributions that are not reported directly on Form 1040, line 7a
Partners, S corporation shareholders and estate or trust beneficiaries whose Schedule K-1 shows a capital gain or loss
People carrying a capital loss over from 2024
People with a nonbusiness bad debt

Before you start

Forms 1099-B and 1099-DA from your brokers, and Forms 1099-DIV that show capital gain distributions
Your completed Form 8949, if any of your sales must be listed on it
Records of what you paid for each asset and when you bought and sold it, so you know your cost or other basis and how long you held it
Schedules K-1 and any Forms 2439, 4684, 4797, 6252, 6781 or 8824 whose amounts go on Schedule D
Your 2024 Form 1040 and 2024 Schedule D, to figure any capital loss carryover with the worksheet in the instructions
Whether you disposed of any investment in a qualified opportunity fund (QOF) during 2025

How to fill out Schedule D

Top of page 1: name, SSN and the QOF question
Enter the name or names shown on your return and your social security number. Then check Yes or No to say whether you disposed of any investment in a qualified opportunity fund during the tax year. If you check Yes, attach Form 8949 and follow its instructions; the Schedule D instructions also say you must complete Part III of Form 8997.
Part I, lines 1a to 3: short-term totals
Part I is for assets you generally held one year or less. Line 1a is for totals of sales reported on Form 1099-B or 1099-DA where basis was reported to the IRS and no adjustments are needed; if you choose to list those sales on Form 8949 instead, leave line 1a blank. Lines 1b, 2 and 3 take the totals from Form 8949, Part I, with Box A or G, Box B or H, or Box C or I checked. On each line, enter proceeds in column (d) and cost or other basis in column (e). Column (h) is column (d) minus column (e), combined with any adjustment in column (g). Put negative amounts in parentheses.
Part I, lines 4 to 7: other short-term amounts
Line 4 is short-term gain from Form 6252 and short-term gain or loss from Forms 4684, 6781 and 8824. Line 5 is net short-term gain or loss from Schedules K-1. Line 6 is your short-term capital loss carryover from line 8 of the Capital Loss Carryover Worksheet in the instructions. Line 7 combines lines 1a through 6 in column (h). If you have no long-term gains or losses, go to Part III.
Part II, lines 8a to 10: long-term totals
Part II is for assets you generally held more than one year. It works like Part I. Line 8a is for totals of long-term sales reported on Form 1099-B or 1099-DA with basis reported to the IRS and no adjustments. Lines 8b, 9 and 10 take the totals from Form 8949, Part II, with Box D or J, Box E or K, or Box F or L checked.
Part II, lines 11 to 15: other long-term amounts
Line 11 is 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. Line 12 is net long-term gain or loss from Schedules K-1. Line 13 is capital gain distributions, the amount in box 2a of Form 1099-DIV, however long you held the investment. Line 14 is your long-term capital loss carryover from line 13 of the Capital Loss Carryover Worksheet. Line 15 combines lines 8a through 14 in column (h).
Part III, lines 16 to 22: summary
Line 16 combines lines 7 and 15. If it is a gain, enter it on Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, line 7a, and go to line 17. If it is a loss, skip lines 17 to 20, go to line 21, and also complete line 22. If it is zero, skip lines 17 to 21, enter -0- on line 7a and go to line 22. Lines 17 to 20 ask whether lines 15 and 16 are both gains, take amounts from the 28% Rate Gain Worksheet and the Unrecaptured Section 1250 Gain Worksheet if you must complete them, and tell you which tax worksheet to use. Line 21 limits the loss you enter on line 7a to the smaller of the line 16 loss or ($3,000), or ($1,500) if married filing separately. Line 22 asks whether you have qualified dividends on line 3a of your return; if you do, it points you to the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet in the Form 1040 instructions.

After you fill it out

Schedule D is not filed on its own. Attach it to your Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, along with any Forms 8949 whose totals you used; its Attachment Sequence Number is 12. If you file a paper return, check the filing address for your return on IRS.gov. Keep the worksheets from the instructions, such as the Capital Loss Carryover Worksheet, with your records.

Signing: Schedule D has no signature line. It is attached to your Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, and when you sign that return you declare that you have examined it and its accompanying schedules.

Watch out for

Complete Form 8949 before you fill in lines 1b, 2, 3, 8b, 9 and 10. Those lines take their totals from Form 8949.
Lines 1a and 8a are only for sales where the Form 1099-B or 1099-DA shows basis was reported to the IRS and no adjustments are needed. The Ordinary and QOF boxes on that form must not be checked, and sales of collectibles cannot be reported on these lines. See the instructions for the full list of conditions.
A loss from selling property you held for personal use, such as your home or car, is not deductible. Some of these sales must still be reported on Form 8949, for example a loss on real estate reported to you on Form 1099-S.
Report all of your capital gains and losses, even if you cannot use all of your losses this year. Losses above the line 21 limit may carry over to later years.

Questions about Schedule D

Do I need Schedule D if my only capital gains are mutual fund distributions?

Not always. The Form 1040 instructions say you do not need Schedule D or Form 8949 if you have no capital losses, your only capital gains are distributions in box 2a of Form 1099-DIV, none of those forms show an amount in box 2b, 2c or 2d, and you are not deferring gain in a qualified opportunity fund. In that case, enter the distributions on Form 1040, line 7a, and check the Schedule D not required box on line 7b.

What is the difference between short-term and long-term?

Generally, a gain or loss on an asset you held one year or less is short-term and goes in Part I. One held more than one year is long-term and goes in Part II. There are exceptions; for example, certain gains on applicable partnership interests need a holding period of more than 3 years to be long-term.

How much of a capital loss can I deduct?

Line 21 limits the loss you can claim to the smaller of your net loss on line 16 or $3,000 ($1,500 if married filing separately). If your loss is larger, you may be able to carry the rest to later years. The instructions say the carryover to 2026 is figured with the worksheet in the 2026 Schedule D instructions, or now with Publication 550.

Do I have to list every sale on Form 8949?

No. You can report totals on line 1a or 8a for sales shown on Form 1099-B or 1099-DA where basis was reported to the IRS and no adjustments are needed, as long as the other conditions in the instructions are met; sales of collectibles are not allowed there. Other sales go on Form 8949, and its totals go on lines 1b to 3 and 8b to 10.

Can I round amounts to whole dollars?

Yes. If you round, you must round every amount: drop amounts under 50 cents and raise amounts from 50 to 99 cents to the next dollar. When you add two or more amounts for one line, include the cents and round only the total.