If you sold any stocks, bonds, options, or other securities; a home or other real estate; art, antiques, rugs, jewelry, precious metals, or other collectibles; or property used in a trade or business or used to generate income; or if you had any capital gains distributions from mutual funds or REITs, you will have to complete and file Schedule D and file it with your Form 1040. You won't be able to use either the 1040A or the 1040EZ form.

Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses

The file is in Adobe portable document format (PDF), which requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

For background information as well as information on related topics, see our discussion of capital gains and losses.