{"id":20254,"date":"2017-06-14T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/"},"modified":"2021-07-28T16:08:40","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T21:08:40","slug":"basic-schedule-d-instructions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/","title":{"rendered":"I am in need of Schedule D instructions. How do I complete a Schedule D tax form?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What is an IRS Schedule D?<\/h2>\n<p>Schedule D (Form 1040) is a tax&nbsp;schedule from the IRS that attaches to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/form-1040\/\">Form 1040<\/a>, <em>U.S. Individual Income Tax Return<\/em>, Form 1040-SR, or Form 1040NR. It is used to help you calculate their capital gains or losses, and the amount of taxes owed. Computations from Schedule D are reported on the Form 1040, affecting your adjusted gross income.<\/p>\n<h2>Schedule D Instructions<\/h2>\n<p>Regarding&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/income\/investments\/reporting-multiple-stock-trades-on-schedule-d\/\">Schedule D<\/a>&nbsp;instructions, if you have any sales of capital assets, you must first complete Form 8949, <em>Sales and Dispositions of Capital Assets<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll use the information from Form 8949 to complete Schedule D.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use Part I for sales of short-term assets \u2014 held for one year or less.<\/li>\n<li>Use Part II for sales of long-term assets \u2014 held for more than one year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You\u2019ll need this information to complete Form 8949:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-47385 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/tax-forms-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"tax forms\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/tax-forms-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/tax-forms-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/tax-forms-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Description of property<\/li>\n<li>Purchase price<\/li>\n<li>Purchase date<\/li>\n<li>Selling price<\/li>\n<li>Selling date<\/li>\n<li>Adjustments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>After you enter this information, you\u2019ll calculate the gain or loss in the last column. Enter the totals at the bottom of each part. Then, enter the results on the Schedule D tax form, on the appropriate lines (1, 2, 3, 8, 9 or 10). Enter in Parts I (for short-term) and II (for long-term) the amounts that correspond, Parts I and II. In Part III of Schedule D, you\u2019ll combine Parts I and II into a summary. Then, you\u2019ll calculate:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Which tax calculation form to use<\/li>\n<li>How much capital gain or loss to report on Form 1040<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You\u2019ll then fill in other applicable information on the Schedule D tax form. This information includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gains and losses from other forms \u2014 like Forms 4797, 6252, 8824, and others<\/li>\n<li>Gains and losses from&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/schedule-k-1\/\">Schedule K-1<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Loss carryovers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>More Help Filling Out the Schedule D Tax Form<\/h2>\n<p>If you need more help completing the Schedule D tax form, enlist help from H&amp;R Block! Whether you&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-offices\/local-offices\/#!\/en\/office-locator\/\">make an appointment<\/a>&nbsp;with one of our knowledgeable tax pros or choose one of our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/online-tax-filing\/\">online tax filing<\/a>&nbsp;products, you can count on H&amp;R Block to help you get your taxes done and won.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is an IRS Schedule D? Schedule D (Form 1040) is a tax&nbsp;schedule from the IRS that attaches to the Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040-SR, or Form 1040NR. It is used to help you calculate their capital gains or losses, and the amount of taxes owed. Computations from Schedule D are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irs","category-forms"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>Basic Schedule D Instructions | H&amp;R Block<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Need instructions for filling out your Schedule D tax form? Learn more from the tax experts at H&amp;R Block.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I am in need of Schedule D instructions. How do I complete a Schedule D tax form?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Need instructions for filling out your Schedule D tax form? Learn more from the tax experts at H&amp;R Block.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"H&amp;R Block\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-14T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-28T21:08:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/tax-forms-1080x675.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"H&amp;R Block\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@HRBlock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hrblock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"H&amp;R Block\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/forms\\\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/forms\\\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"H&amp;R Block\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0451551be86ad17708cdd08a71391fcf\"},\"headline\":\"I am in need of Schedule D instructions. How do I complete a Schedule D tax form?\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-14T12:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-28T21:08:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/forms\\\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":368,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/forms\\\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/tax-forms.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"IRS\",\"Forms\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/forms\\\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/forms\\\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\\\/\",\"name\":\"Basic Schedule D Instructions | H&R Block\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/forms\\\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/forms\\\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/tax-forms.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-14T12:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-28T21:08:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0451551be86ad17708cdd08a71391fcf\"},\"description\":\"Need instructions for filling out your Schedule D tax form? Learn more from the tax experts at H&R Block.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/forms\\\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/forms\\\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/forms\\\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/tax-forms.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/tax-forms.jpg\",\"width\":2704,\"height\":1521,\"caption\":\"tax forms\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/forms\\\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"I am in need of Schedule D instructions. How do I complete a Schedule D tax form?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"H&amp;R Block\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0451551be86ad17708cdd08a71391fcf\",\"name\":\"H&amp;R Block\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/BlockAuthor.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/BlockAuthor.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/BlockAuthor.jpg\",\"caption\":\"H&amp;R Block\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/hrblock.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/hrblock\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/HRBlock\"]}]}<\/script>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Basic Schedule D Instructions | H&R Block","description":"Need instructions for filling out your Schedule D tax form? Learn more from the tax experts at H&R Block.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"I am in need of Schedule D instructions. How do I complete a Schedule D tax form?","og_description":"Need instructions for filling out your Schedule D tax form? Learn more from the tax experts at H&R Block.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/","og_site_name":"H&amp;R Block","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock","article_published_time":"2017-06-14T12:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-07-28T21:08:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/tax-forms-1080x675.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"H&amp;R Block","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@HRBlock","twitter_site":"@hrblock","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"H&amp;R Block","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/"},"author":{"name":"H&amp;R Block","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#\/schema\/person\/0451551be86ad17708cdd08a71391fcf"},"headline":"I am in need of Schedule D instructions. How do I complete a Schedule D tax form?","datePublished":"2017-06-14T12:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-28T21:08:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/"},"wordCount":368,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/tax-forms.jpg","articleSection":["IRS","Forms"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/","name":"Basic Schedule D Instructions | H&R Block","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/tax-forms.jpg","datePublished":"2017-06-14T12:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-28T21:08:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#\/schema\/person\/0451551be86ad17708cdd08a71391fcf"},"description":"Need instructions for filling out your Schedule D tax form? Learn more from the tax experts at H&R Block.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/tax-forms.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/tax-forms.jpg","width":2704,"height":1521,"caption":"tax forms"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/forms\/basic-schedule-d-instructions\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"I am in need of Schedule D instructions. How do I complete a Schedule D tax form?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/","name":"H&amp;R Block","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#\/schema\/person\/0451551be86ad17708cdd08a71391fcf","name":"H&amp;R Block","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BlockAuthor.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BlockAuthor.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BlockAuthor.jpg","caption":"H&amp;R Block"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/hrblock.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock","https:\/\/x.com\/HRBlock"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20254\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}