It's that time of year again — inboxes fill up with the same question every January: "Where's my 1099?" If your accounts are held at Charles Schwab, here's what's actually happening behind the scenes. Schwab doesn't send every 1099 at once — they release them in three separate waves. The first wave typically goes out at the end of January, covering accounts where Schwab already has all the necessary tax information finalized. A second wave follows in mid-February for accounts holding certain investments, like some mutual funds, ETFs, or REITs, where Schwab is still waiting on final reporting details from the issuer. A smaller third wave arrives by the end of February for any remaining accounts with outstanding activity. So if your neighbor's 1099 shows up before yours, it doesn't mean anything is wrong — you're likely just in a different wave. Schwab will notify you by email the moment your form is ready, whether that means your paperless copy has posted online or your paper copy has been mailed. To save you the hunt, we put together a short video showing exactly where to log in and click to find your 1099 once it's live. Press play below, and if anything about your form looks off once it arrives, reach out to your Sonoma Wealth Advisors team — we're happy to walk through it with you.
