Instructions for Form 1099-S

(Rev. January 2022)

Proceeds From Real Estate Transactions

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless 

otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to Form 

1099-S and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after 

they were published, go to IRS.gov/Form1099S.

What’s New

Continuous-use form and instructions. Form 1099-S and 

these instructions have been converted from an annual revision 

to continuous use. Both the form and instructions will be updated 

as needed. For the most recent version, go to IRS.gov/

Form1099S.

Reminders

In addition to these specific instructions, you should also use the 

current General Instructions for Certain Information Returns. 

Those general instructions include information about the 

following topics.

• Who must file.

• When and where to file.

• Electronic reporting.

• Corrected and void returns.

• Statements to recipients.

• Taxpayer identification numbers (TINs).

• Backup withholding.

• Penalties.

• Other general topics.

You can get the general instructions at IRS.gov/

1099GeneralInstructions or go to IRS.gov/Form1099S.

Online PDF fillable Copies B and C. To ease statement 

furnishing requirements, Copies B and C are fillable online in a 

PDF format available at IRS.gov/Form1099S. You can complete 

these copies online for furnishing statements to recipients and 

for retaining in your own files.

Specific Instructions

File Form 1099-S, Proceeds From Real Estate Transactions, to 

report the sale or exchange of real estate.

Reportable Real Estate

Generally, you are required to report a transaction that consists 

in whole or in part of the sale or exchange for money, 

indebtedness, property, or services of any present or future 

ownership interest in any of the following.

1. Improved or unimproved land, including air space.

2. Inherently permanent structures, including any 

residential, commercial, or industrial building.

3. A condominium unit and its appurtenant fixtures and 

common elements, including land.

4. Stock in a cooperative housing corporation (as defined in 

section 216).

5. Any non-contingent interest in standing timber.

Sale or exchange. A sale or exchange includes any 

transaction properly treated as a sale or exchange for federal 

income tax purposes, even if the transaction is not currently 

taxable. For example, a sale of a main home may be a 

reportable sale even though the transferor may be entitled to 

exclude the gain under section 121. But see Exceptions, later. 

Also, a transfer to a corporation that qualifies for nonrecognition 

of gain under section 351 is a reportable exchange. In addition, a 

transfer under a land contract is reportable in the year in which 

the parties enter into the contract.

Ownership interest. An ownership interest includes fee simple 

interests, life estates, reversions, remainders, and perpetual 

easements. It also includes any previously created rights to 

possession or use for all or part of any particular year (for 

example, a leasehold, easement, or timeshare), if such rights 

have a remaining term of at least 30 years, including any period 

for which the holder may renew such rights, determined on the 

date of closing. For example, a preexisting leasehold on a 

building with an original term of 99 years and a remaining term of 

35 years on the closing date is an ownership interest; however, if 

the remaining term is 10 years, it is not an ownership interest. An 

ownership interest does not include any option to acquire real 

estate. An ownership interest also includes any contractual 

interest in a sale or exchange of standing timber for a lump-sum 

payment that is fixed and not contingent.

Involuntary conversion. A sale of real estate under threat or 

imminence of seizure, requisition, or condemnation is generally 

a reportable transaction.

Timber. Report on Form 1099-S payments of timber royalties 

made under a pay-as-cut contract, reportable under section 

6050N. For more information, see Announcement 90-129, 

1990-48 I.R.B. 10.

Exceptions

The following is a list of transactions that are not reportable; 

however, you may choose to report them. If you do, you are 

subject to the rules in these instructions.

1. Sale or exchange of a residence (including stock in a 

cooperative housing corporation) for $250,000 or less if you 

received an acceptable written assurance (certification) from the 

seller that such residence is the principal residence (within the 

meaning of section 121) of the seller and the full amount of the 

gain on such sale is excludable from gross income under section 

121. If the certification includes an assurance that the seller is 

married, the preceding sentence shall be applied by substituting 

“$500,000” for “$250,000.” If there are joint sellers, you must 

obtain a certification from each seller (whether married or not) or 

file Form 1099-S for any seller who does not make the 

certification. Also, the seller must include in the certification that 

there has been no period of nonqualified use (as that term is 

defined in section 121(b)(5)(C)) after December 31, 2008, and 

as required by section 6045(e)(5)(A)(iii), that the full amount of 

the gain from the sale is excludable under section 121. The 

certification must be signed by each seller under penalties of 

perjury.

A sample certification format can be found in Rev. Proc. 

2007-12, 2007-4 I.R.B. 354, available at IRS.gov/irb/

2007-04_IRB#RP-2007-12.html. The sample certification does 

not include an assurance that there has been no period of 

nonqualified use and an assurance that the full amount of the 

gain from the sale is excludable under section 121. The seller 

must add the information as explained earlier.

Jul 23, 2021 Cat. No. 27988X
You may get the certification any time on or before January 

31 of the year after the year of sale. You may rely on the 

certification and not file or furnish Form 1099-S unless you know 

that any assurance on the certification is incorrect.

You must keep the certification for 4 years after the year of 

sale. You may keep the certification on paper, microfilm, 

microfiche, or in an electronic storage system.

You are not required to obtain the certification. However, if 

you do not obtain it, you must file and furnish Form 1099-S.

2. Any transaction in which the transferor is a corporation (or 

is considered to be a corporation under Regulations section 

1.6045-4(d)(2)); a governmental unit, including a foreign 

government or an international organization; or an exempt 

volume transferor. Under this rule, if there are exempt and 

nonexempt transferors, you must file Form 1099-S only for the 

nonexempt transferor.

An exempt volume transferor is someone who sold or 

exchanged during the year, who expects to sell or exchange 

during the year, or who sold or exchanged in either of the 2 

previous years at least 25 separate items of reportable real 

estate to at least 25 separate transferees. In addition, each item 

of reportable real estate must have been held, at the date of 

closing, or will be held, primarily for sale or resale to customers 

in the ordinary course of a trade or business. You are not 

required to report an exempt volume transferor's transactions if 

you receive the penalties of perjury certification required by 

Regulations section 1.6045-4(d)(3).

3. Any transaction that is not a sale or exchange, including a 

bequest, a gift (including a transaction treated as a gift under 

section 1041), and a financing or refinancing that is not related to 

the acquisition of real estate.

4. A transfer in full or partial satisfaction of a debt secured by 

the property. This includes a foreclosure, a transfer in lieu of 

foreclosure, or an abandonment.

5. A de minimis transfer for less than $600. A transaction is 

de minimis if it can be determined with certainty that the total 

money, services, and property received or to be received is less 

than $600, as measured on the closing date. For example, if a 

contract for sale provides for total consideration of “$1.00 plus 

other valuable consideration,” the transfer is not a de minimis 

transfer unless you can determine that the “other valuable 

consideration” is less than $599, as measured on the closing 

date. The $600 rule applies to the transaction as a whole, not 

separately to each transferor.

No reporting is required for the sale or exchange of an 

interest in the following types of property, provided the sale is 

not related to the sale or exchange of reportable real estate.

• An interest in surface or subsurface natural resources (for 

example, water, ores, or other natural deposits) or crops, 

whether or not such natural resources or crops are severed from 

the land. For this purpose, the terms "natural resources" and 

"crops" do not include standing timber. For timber royalties, see 

Timber, earlier.

• A burial plot or vault.

• A manufactured structure used as a dwelling that is 

manufactured and assembled at a location different from that 

where it is used, but only if such structure is not affixed, on the 

closing date, to a foundation. This exception applies to the 

transfer of an unaffixed mobile home that is unrelated to the sale 

or exchange of reportable real estate.

Who Must File

Generally, the person responsible for closing the transaction, as 

explained in (1) below, is required to file Form 1099-S. If no one 

is responsible for closing the transaction, the person required to 

file Form 1099-S is explained in (2), later. However, you may 

designate the person required to file Form 1099-S in a written 

agreement, as explained under (3), later.

1. If you are the person responsible for closing the 

transaction, you must file Form 1099-S. If a Closing Disclosure 

prescribed under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) is used and a person is 

listed as the settlement agent on the Closing Disclosure, the 

person responsible for closing the transaction is the person 

listed as the settlement agent on that Closing Disclosure. The 

Closing Disclosure combines and replaces the HUD-1 

Settlement Statement and the final Truth-in-Lending (TIL) 

statement under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act 

(RESPA) of 1974, as amended, and the Federal Truth in 

Lending Act, which is contained in title I of the Consumer Credit 

Protection Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. 1601). The form 

incorporates the information provided on the Loan Estimate. A 

Closing Disclosure includes any amendments, variations, or 

substitutions that may be prescribed under Dodd-Frank if any 

such form discloses the transferor and transferee, the 

application of the proceeds, and the identity of the settlement 

agent or other person responsible for preparing the form.

If the Closing Disclosure is not used, or no settlement agent is 

listed, the person responsible for closing the transaction is the 

person who prepares a Closing Disclosure that identifies the 

transferor and transferee, reasonably identifies the real estate 

transferred, and describes how the proceeds are to be or were 

disbursed.

If no Closing Disclosure is used, or if two or more Closing 

Disclosures are used, the person responsible for closing the 

transaction is, in the following order:

a. The transferee's attorney who is present at the delivery of 

either the transferee's note or a significant part of the cash 

proceeds to the transferor or who prepares or reviews the 

preparation of the documents transferring legal or equitable 

ownership,

b. The transferor's attorney who is present at the delivery of 

either the transferee's note or a significant part of the cash 

proceeds to the transferor or who prepares or reviews the 

preparation of the documents transferring legal or equitable 

ownership, or

c. The disbursing title or escrow company that is most 

significant in disbursing gross proceeds.

If there is more than one attorney described in (a) or (b), the 

one whose involvement is most significant is the person 

considered responsible for closing the transaction.

2. If no one is responsible for closing the transaction as 

explained in (1) above, the person responsible for filing is, in the 

following order: (a) the mortgage lender, (b) the transferor's 

broker, (c) the transferee's broker, or (d) the transferee.

For purposes of (2) above, apply the following definitions.

a. Mortgage lender means a person who lends new funds in 

connection with the transaction, but only if the loan is at least 

partially secured by the real estate. If there is more than one 

lender, the one who lends the most new funds is the mortgage 

lender. If several lenders advance equal amounts of new funds, 

and no other person advances a greater amount of new funds, 

the mortgage lender is the one who has the security interest that 

is most senior in priority. Amounts advanced by the transferor 

are not treated as new funds.

b. Transferor's broker means the broker who contracts with 

the transferor and who is compensated for the transaction.

c. Transferee's broker means the broker who significantly 

participates in the preparation of the offer to acquire the property 

or who presents such offer to the transferor. If there is more than 

one such person, the transferee's broker is the one who most 

significantly participates in the preparation of the acquisition 

-2- Instructions for Form 1099-S (Rev. 01-2022)
offer. If there is no such person, the one who most significantly 

participates in the presentation of the offer is the transferee's 

broker.

d. Transferee means the person who acquires the greatest 

interest in the property. If no one acquires the greatest interest, 

the transferee is the person listed first on the ownership transfer 

documents.

3. Designation agreement. You can enter into a written 

agreement at or before closing to designate who must file Form 

1099-S for the transaction. The agreement will identify the 

person responsible for filing if such designated person signs the 

agreement. It is not necessary that all parties to the transaction 

(or that more than one party) enter into the agreement.

You may be designated in the agreement as the person who 

must file if you are the person responsible for closing the 

transaction (as explained in (1) under Who Must File, earlier), 

the transferee's or transferor's attorney (as explained in (1) 

under Who Must File, earlier), the title or escrow company that is 

most significant in disbursing gross proceeds, or the mortgage 

lender (as explained in (2a) under Who Must File, earlier).

The designation agreement may be in any written form and 

may be included on the Closing Disclosure. It must:

a. Identify by name and address the person designated as 

responsible for filing,

b. Include the names and addresses of each person 

entering into the agreement,

c. Be signed and dated by all persons entering into the 

agreement,

d. Include the names and addresses of the transferor and 

transferee, and

e. Include the address and any other information necessary 

to identify the property.

Each person who signs the agreement must keep it for 4 years.

For each transaction, be sure that only one person is 

responsible for filing and that only one Form 1099-S is 

filed for each transferor.

Employees, Agents, and Partners

If an employee, agent, or partner, acting within the scope of such 

person's employment, agency, or partnership, participates in a 

real estate transaction, only the employer, principal, or 

partnership (not the employee, agent, or partner) may be the 

reporting person. However, the participation of a person listed 

on the Closing Disclosure as the settlement agent acting as an 

agent of another is not attributed to the principal.

Foreign Transferors

Sales or exchanges involving foreign transferors are reportable 

on Form 1099-S. For information on the transferee's 

responsibility to withhold income tax when a U.S. real property 

interest is acquired from a foreign person, see Pub. 515, 

Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities.

Multiple Transferors

For multiple transferors of the same real estate, you must file a 

separate Form 1099-S for each transferor. At or before closing, 

you must request from the transferors an allocation of the gross 

proceeds among the transferors. The request and the response 

are not required to be in writing. You must make a reasonable 

effort to contact all transferors of whom you have knowledge. 

However, you may rely on the unchallenged response of any 

transferor, and you need not make additional contacts with other 

transferors after at least one complete allocation is received 

(100% of gross proceeds, whether or not received in a single 

TIP

response). If you receive the allocation, report gross proceeds 

on each Form 1099-S accordingly.

You are not required to, but you may, report gross proceeds 

in accordance with an allocation received after the closing date 

but before the due date of Form 1099-S (without extensions). 

However, you cannot report gross proceeds in accordance with 

an allocation received on or after the due date of Form 1099-S 

(without extensions).

If no gross proceeds are allocated to a transferor because no 

allocation or an incomplete allocation is received, you must 

report the total unallocated gross proceeds on the Form 1099-S 

made for that transferor. If you do not receive any allocation or 

you receive conflicting allocations, report on each transferor's 

Form 1099-S the total unallocated gross proceeds.

Spouses. If the transferors were spouses at the time of closing, 

who held the property as joint tenants, tenants by the entirety, 

tenants in common, or as community property, treat them as a 

single transferor. Only one Form 1099-S showing either of them 

as the transferor is required. You need not request an allocation 

of gross proceeds if spouses are the only transferors. But if you 

receive an uncontested allocation of gross proceeds from them, 

file Form 1099-S for each spouse according to the allocation. If 

there are other transferors, you must make a reasonable effort to 

contact either spouse to request an allocation.

Partnerships. If the property is transferred by a partnership, file 

only one Form 1099-S for the partnership, not separate Forms 

1099-S for each partner.

Multiple Assets Sold

If real estate is sold or exchanged and other assets are sold or 

exchanged in the same transaction, report the total gross 

proceeds from the entire transaction on Form 1099-S.

TINs

You must request the transferor's TIN no later than the time of 

closing. The TIN request need not be made in a separate 

mailing. Rather, it may be made in person, in a mailing that 

includes other items, or electronically. The transferor is required 

to furnish his or her complete, non-truncated TIN and to certify 

that the TIN is correct. For U.S. persons (including U.S. resident 

aliens), you may request a TIN on Form W-9, Request for 

Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification. Foreign 

persons may provide their TIN to you on the appropriate Form 

W-8. See part J in the current General Instructions for Certain 

Information Returns.

Alternatively, you may provide a written statement to the 

transferor similar to the following: “You are required by law to 

provide (insert name of person responsible for filing) with your 

correct taxpayer identification number. If you do not provide 

(insert name of person responsible for filing) with your correct 

taxpayer identification number, you may be subject to civil or 

criminal penalties imposed by law.”

The solicitation must contain space for the name, address, 

and TIN of the transferor, and a place to certify under penalties 

of perjury that the TIN furnished is the correct TIN of the 

transferor. The certification must read similar to: “Under 

penalties of perjury, I certify that I am a U.S. person or U.S. 

resident alien and the number shown on this statement is my 

correct taxpayer identification number.”

If you use a Closing Disclosure, you may provide a copy of 

such statement, appropriately modified to solicit the TIN, to the 

transferor. Keep the Form W-9, W-8, or substitute form in your 

records for 4 years.

Separate Charge Prohibited

You may not charge your customers a separate fee for 

complying with the Form 1099-S filing requirements. However, 

Instructions for Form 1099-S (Rev. 01-2022) -3-
you may take into account the cost of filing the form in setting the 

fees you charge your customers for services in a real estate 

transaction.

Statements to Transferors

If you are required to file Form 1099-S, you must furnish a 

statement to the transferor. Furnish a copy of Form 1099-S or an 

acceptable substitute statement to each transferor. For more 

information about the requirement to furnish a statement to the 

transferor, see part M in the current General Instructions for 

Certain Information Returns.

You are not required to indicate on Form 1099-S that the 

transferor's (seller's) financing was federally subsidized. 

Also, you are not required to enter the following.

• Both total gross proceeds and the allocated gross proceeds 

for a multiple transferor transaction (enter either one or the 

other). 

• An indication that the transferor may receive property or 

services for an obligation having a stated principal amount. 

• An indication that, in connection with a contingent payment 

transaction, the transferor may receive gross proceeds that 

cannot be determined with certainty under the regulations and is 

not included in gross proceeds.

Truncating transferor's TIN on payee statements. Pursuant 

to Regulations section 301.6109-4, all filers of this form may 

truncate a transferor’s TIN (social security number (SSN), 

individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), adoption 

taxpayer identification number (ATIN), or employer identification 

number (EIN)) on payee statements. Truncation is not allowed 

on any documents the filer files with the IRS. A filer’s TIN may 

not be truncated on any form. See part J in the current General 

Instructions for Certain Information Returns.

Filer's Name, Address, and Telephone Number 

Box

Enter the name, address, and telephone number of the person 

who is filing Form 1099-S. The name and address must be the 

same as the filer information reported on Form 1096.

Transferor's Name and Address Box

Enter the name and address of the seller or other transferor of 

the real estate. If spouses are joint sellers, it is only necessary to 

enter one name and the TIN for that person on the form.

Account Number

The account number is required if you have multiple accounts for 

a recipient for whom you are filing more than one Form 1099-S. 

Additionally, the IRS encourages you to designate an account 

number for all Forms 1099-S that you file. See part L in the 

current General Instructions for Certain Information Returns.

Box 1. Date of Closing

Enter the closing date. On a Closing Disclosure, the closing date 

is the Closing Disclosure date. If a Closing Disclosure is not 

used, the closing date is the earlier of the date title transfers or 

the date the economic burdens and benefits of ownership shift to 

the transferee.

Box 2. Gross Proceeds

Enter the gross proceeds from the sale or exchange of real 

estate. Gross proceeds means any cash received or to be 

received for the real property by or on behalf of the transferor, 

including the stated principal amount of a note payable to or for 

the benefit of the transferor and including a note or mortgage 

paid off at settlement. If the transferee assumes a liability of the 

transferor or takes the property subject to a liability, such liability 

TIP

is treated as cash and is includible as part of gross proceeds. 

For a contingent payment transaction, include the maximum 

determinable proceeds. Also see Multiple Assets Sold, earlier.

If you are reporting a like-kind exchange of property for which 

no gross proceeds are reportable, enter -0- (zero) in box 2 and 

enter an “X” in the checkbox in box 4.

Gross proceeds do not include the value of property or 

services received or to be received by, or on behalf of, the 

transferor, or separately stated cash received for personal 

property, such as draperies, rugs, or a washer and dryer.

Do not reduce gross proceeds by any expenses paid by the 

transferor, such as sales commissions, deed preparation, 

advertising, and legal expenses. If a Closing Disclosure is used 

for a transfer of real estate for cash and notes only, gross 

proceeds will generally be the contract sales price shown on that 

statement. If other property or services were exchanged, see the 

box 4 instructions, later.

Contingent payment transaction. A contingent payment 

transaction is one in which the receipt, by or on behalf of the 

transferor, is subject to a contingency. The maximum 

determinable proceeds means the greatest amount of gross 

proceeds possible if all the contingencies are satisfied. If the 

maximum amount of gross proceeds cannot be determined with 

certainty, the maximum determinable proceeds are the greatest 

amount that can be determined with certainty.

Box 3. Address (Including City, State, and ZIP 

Code) or Legal Description

Enter the address of the property, including the city, state, and 

ZIP code. If the address does not sufficiently identify the 

property, also enter a legal description, such as section, lot, and 

block. For timber royalties, enter “Timber royalties.” For 

lump-sum timber payments, enter “Lump-sum timber payment.”

Box 4. Check Here if the Transferor Received or 

Will Receive Property or Services as Part of the 

Consideration

If the transferor received or will receive property (other than cash 

and consideration treated as cash in figuring gross proceeds) or 

services as part of the consideration for the property, enter an 

“X” in the checkbox in box 4.

Box 5. Check Here if the Transferor Is a Foreign 

Person (Nonresident Alien, Foreign Partnership, 

Foreign Estate, or Foreign Trust)

If the transferor is a foreign person (nonresident alien, foreign 

partnership, foreign estate, or foreign trust), enter an "X" in the 

checkbox in box 5. See Form 8288 and its separate instructions 

for tax withholding requirements for properties sold by a foreign 

transferor.

Box 6. Buyer's Part of Real Estate Tax

For a real estate transaction involving a residence, enter the real 

estate tax paid in advance that is allocable to the buyer. You do 

not have to report an amount as allocable to the buyer for real 

estate taxes paid in arrears. You may use the appropriate 

information included on the Closing Disclosure, or comparable 

form, provided at closing. For example, a residence is sold in a 

county where the real estate tax is paid annually in advance. The 

seller paid real estate taxes of $1,200 for the year in which the 

sale took place. The sale occurred at the end of the 9th month of 

the real estate tax year. Therefore, $300 of the tax paid in 

advance is allocated to the buyer, by reference to the amount of 

real estate tax shown on the Closing Disclosure as paid by the 

seller in advance, and is reported in box 5. See Notice 93-4, 

1993-1 C.B. 295.

-4- Instructions for Form 1099-S (Rev. 01-2022)