Schedule D Purpose

The main purpose of Schedule D is to summarize gain or loss from capital asset sales listed on Form 8949. Two of the most common capital assets are stocks and options.

Traders and investors are required by law to provide the IRS with the details of all stock and options sales. Most taxpayers will report the trade details on Form 8949, with totals going on Schedule D.

There are two parts to Schedule D, for short and long term sales. Within each part, there are three reporting types.

Schedule D is also used to report capital loss carryover amounts.