2009 | Tax Guide

 

This comprehensive and informative guide is a tool to assist you or your tax professional with the preparation of your tax returns. It contains examples, explanations and illustrations from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) schedules to help you use your Tax Information Statement.

 

 

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What’s New for the 2009 Tax Information Statement

IRS Form 1099-B Changes for 2009

If you held an interest in a unit investment trust (UIT), mortgage-backed security, royalty trust, Holding Company Depositary Receipts (HOLDRS®) trust or commodities trust, we are now required to report certain details regarding transactions for these securities on IRS Form 1099-B, because these securities are considered to be WHFITs (widely held fixed investment trusts). The 2009 Form 1099-B Tax Information Statement contains two new required categories of information: Transaction Type and Cost Basis Factor.

Additional Written Statement

An Additional Written Statement will be provided as appropriate and as required by the IRS for WHFITs by March 15, 2010. This statement provides details of income and expense amounts reported on Form 1099.

Supplemental Information Section

If you owned a royalty or HOLDRS trust in your brokerage account in 2009, we are required to report additional information to you (and not the IRS) by March 15, 2010. A royalty trust and HOLDRS trust Supplemental Information page will be provided in your Tax Information Statement.

Tax Information Statement Instructions

Please refer to the instructions on your Tax Information Statement for more information. The instructions are now displayed below the transaction details for each section to assist you or your tax professional with the preparation of your return.

Changes to Form 1099-R Reporting for 2009

Box 2a (Taxable Amount) will generally be left blank for IRA distributions. Per IRS Instructions for Form 1099-R: Generally, Box 2a should be left blank when reporting distributions from traditional or SEP IRAs, unless otherwise instructed later (in the form instructions). In these cases, the taxable amount not determined in Box 2b will be checked.

Please review the Tax Guide for further information on these and other topics.

Now Available: Mutual Fund Supplemental Information

Select the tax year and enter a CUSIP® to obtain the percentage of tax-exempt, in-state municipal income and the percentage of income from government agency, direct federal and foreign sources for a particular fund.

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Read Before You File

If you held a mutual fund, real estate investment trust (REIT), WHFIT, widely held mortgage trust (WHMT) or UIT in 2009, we may send you a revised Tax Information Statement. Please be aware that some issuers did not make their final distribution information available until after January. See the Dividends and Distributions section of the Tax Guide.

Royalty Trust Tax Information Booklets

If you are a unit holder of a royalty trust, the trust will provide you with a tax information booklet that will be directly mailed to you. In addition, the booklet is typically available at a website for the trust. For your convenience, please visit this section to access the links to certain royalty trust websites.

 

 

Disclaimer: This website is not intended to provide tax advisory services. We suggest that you consult your tax professional to discuss the appropriate federal, foreign, state and local tax treatment of your transactions. Any U.S. tax advice contained in the 2009 Tax Guide, the Resources for Royalty Trust Tax Booklets or the Mutual Fund Supplemental Information was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code or applicable state or local tax law provisions or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed in the Tax Guide, the Royalty Trust Tax Booklets or the Supplemental Information.