The amount realized is the amount you receive from the sale of an asset. Your broker or mutual fund company will send you a Form 1099-B or a substitute statement that lists the sales price of mutual fund and stock shares that you sold during the year. By law, the Form 1099-B must be sent to you by February 15, 2011. The amount shown on the form is the total amount you enter on your tax return for that particular sale. This is also the amount that the IRS needs to match when they check your amounts against the amounts reported by your broker or mutual fund company.
Most Form 1099-Bs report the net sales price (the gross amount minus commissions and other expenses). Your broker or mutual fund company will tell you right on the form whether the amount reported is the gross sales price (includes commissions and other expenses) or the net sales price. If the gross sales price is reported, be sure to enter the amount shown on the form exactly as is, and then adjust the cost of the mutual fund. You adjust the cost by adding to it any sales commissions or expenses that you paid.