What if I receive an incorrect Form 1099-DIV?
Contact the payer and ask for a corrected Form 1099-DIV. The IRS receives all Form 1099-DIVs from the payers. So if the amount you report on your tax return doesn't match the amount the IRS received from the payer, the IRS may make an adjustment to your tax return or send you a notice asking about the difference.
However, if the amount on the Form 1099-DIV is less than what it should be, then there's not a problem in going ahead and entering the correct amount of income on your tax return. The IRS will not send you a notice asking why you are reporting more income than the Form 1099-DIV income.
For example, if your Form 1099-DIV is for $200 of dividend income, but you enter the correct amount of $250, the IRS won't care that you reported more income than they were expecting. However, if the correct amount is $100 and you enter $100, but the Form 1099-DIV is for $200, then the IRS would want to know why you aren't reporting the $200 on your tax return.
If the payer won't give you a corrected Form 1099-DIV in a timely manner, it gets more complicated. If you received a Form 1099-DIV for dividend income that belongs to someone else, you can enter the Form 1099-DIV and enter the amount of income that doesn't belong to you as Nominee Dividends on the Dividend Income (Form 1099-DIV) screen.
We'll report the Form 1099-DIV income on Schedule B along with another line that shows the amount of Nominee Dividends. The Nominee Dividends will be subtracted from the dividend income so the correct amount of taxable dividend income is shown on your tax return.
However, if the amount on the Form 1099-DIV is less than what it should be, then there's not a problem in going ahead and entering the correct amount of income on your tax return. The IRS will not send you a notice asking why you are reporting more income than the Form 1099-DIV income.
For example, if your Form 1099-DIV is for $200 of dividend income, but you enter the correct amount of $250, the IRS won't care that you reported more income than they were expecting. However, if the correct amount is $100 and you enter $100, but the Form 1099-DIV is for $200, then the IRS would want to know why you aren't reporting the $200 on your tax return.
If the payer won't give you a corrected Form 1099-DIV in a timely manner, it gets more complicated. If you received a Form 1099-DIV for dividend income that belongs to someone else, you can enter the Form 1099-DIV and enter the amount of income that doesn't belong to you as Nominee Dividends on the Dividend Income (Form 1099-DIV) screen.
We'll report the Form 1099-DIV income on Schedule B along with another line that shows the amount of Nominee Dividends. The Nominee Dividends will be subtracted from the dividend income so the correct amount of taxable dividend income is shown on your tax return.
