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2008 Tax Guide (8.56MB) Print this page
 General Information About Your Tax Information Statement

Exempt Accounts
Certain accounts are exempt from IRS Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding requirements. These accounts include: corporations; qualified retirement plans (QRPs); individual retirement accounts (IRAs); charitable organizations; foreign accounts; most federal, state, and local government accounts, etc. A more complete list of exemption criteria is provided in the Instructions to IRS Form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification). If your account is exempt and you received a Tax Information Statement, please contact your investment professional or financial organization.
 
Taxpayer Identification Number
Please check your name and Taxpayer Identification Number as shown on your Tax Information Statement. If either is missing or incorrect, promptly provide an executed IRS Form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) to your investment professional or financial organization. If more than one name is shown, please ensure that the Social Security number on the Tax Information Statement belongs to the individual whose name is listed first. If that is not the case, please correct the Tax Information Statement by providing a revised IRS Form W-9 and a copy of your statement to your investment professional or financial organization. On the IRS Form W-9, circle the name of the individual whose Social Security number is being furnished. To avoid backup withholding, it is important to ensure that your name and Taxpayer Identification Number are correct. If the information is not correct, or does not match the records of the IRS or Social Security Administration, then, upon notice from the IRS, pursuant to their “B-Notice Program,” we may be required to commence backup withholding.
 
Federal Income Tax Withheld (Backup Withholding)
We are required by law to withhold 28% of federal income tax from all reportable dividends, interest, and gross proceeds paid to certain U.S. persons (including trusts, partnerships, etc.) who fail to furnish a valid Taxpayer Identification Number or appropriate certification (IRS Form W-9). This is called "backup withholding." If you are exempt from backup withholding because you are an exempt recipient (for instance, a corporation, QRP, charity, etc.), please furnish your investment professional or financial organization with an executed IRS Form W-9, indicating the exemption. If you are exempt from backup withholding because you are a foreign person, please furnish a withholding certificate, such as IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8IMY.
 
  We report federal income tax withheld separately in the 1099-B, 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, and 1099-OID sections of your statement. You should combine these amounts and report them on IRS Form 1040, line 62.

When withholding is required, we remit the amount withheld directly to the IRS. We cannot refund this tax withholding to you.

 
 
Nominee Recipients
If your Social Security number or Employer Identification Number is shown on your Tax Information Statement, and the statement includes amounts belonging to another person, you are considered a nominee recipient. You must file IRS Form 1099 for each of the other owners, showing the income allocable to each. File the applicable IRS Form 1099 along with IRS Form 1096 (Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns) with the IRS Center in your area. You should be listed as the "payer" on IRS Form 1099 and as the "filer" on IRS Form 1096. The other owner(s) should be listed as the "recipient(s)" on IRS Form 1099. You must furnish an IRS Form 1099 to the other owners. Spouses are not required to file a nominee return to show amounts owned by the other.
 
Payer
The "payer" for all transactions on your Tax Information Statement is Pershing LLC (Taxpayer Identification Number 13-2741729). This name and Taxpayer Identification Number should be listed wherever the payer's name is requested on an IRS form with respect to amounts reported on your Tax Information Statement.
 
Revised Tax Information Statements
If we receive corrected or updated information, we will report it to you and to the IRS, if required, on a revised Tax Information Statement.
 
Differences Between Your Tax Information Statement and Brokerage Account Statements
Due to IRS requirements, there may be differences between your Tax Information Statement and the brokerage account statements that you received from us. For instance, the IRS requires that transactions on IRS Form 1099-B (Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions) be reported on a trade-date basis, even though your brokerage account statements reflect sales on a settlement-date basis. Additionally, some distributions (for instance, those paid by mutual funds) that are declared in 2008, but are not paid to your account until January 2009, must be reported as 2008 income. Certain securities (such as UITs and OID bonds as described on pages 14 and 19) generate taxable income on an accrual basis, rather than when cash is credited to your account. For these securities, the accrual appears on your Tax Information Statement, whereas the cash activity appears on your brokerage account statement.
 
 
 
Frequently Asked Questions: Taxpayer Identification Number
  1. My child's stock was sold through a custodial account. However, the Tax Information Statement reflects my Taxpayer Identification Number. How can this be corrected?
  1. You should complete a new IRS Form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) and circle your child’s name as the person for whom the Taxpayer Identification Number is supplied. Submit this form to your investment professional or financial organization and request that a new Tax Information Statement, as well as an account correction, be made.