Documents it reads · Broker guide
Merrill documents, for a UK participant
Tracepaper is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Merrill or Bank of America in any way. This page is written from Merrill's own public participant guides — not from any document with a real person's figures on it.
What each document is called, and where it is found
| Document | Where it is found | Does the app read it |
|---|---|---|
| Equity cost basis details | The Statements and Documents page, or printed at the back of the statement itself, as a statement preference. | Not yet |
| Tax Reporting Statement — a combined statement standing in for separate 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, 1099-OID, 1099-B and 1099-MISC forms | The same Statements and Documents page. Because it is a combined statement, a 1099-B arrives inside it rather than as a standalone form. | Not yet |
| Plan agreements, forms and brochures | A Document Library, under "Equity Plan". | Not yet |
| Activity (13-month view) | "My Activity"; an information icon reveals the 13-month view. | Not yet |
Nothing in Merrill's own documents has been tested here — this table exists so a participant can find their own documents; it is not a claim that the app reads a Merrill layout yet.
One thing worth knowing about Merrill specifically
Merrill's own activity view only covers 13 months. A UK tax year ends 5 April, so reconciling a UK tax year against the activity view alone can already be outside its window by the time you look — the statements, not the activity view, are the ones that cover a full UK tax year reliably.
What a UK participant does not receive
A UK participant who is not a US taxpayer will not receive the 1099-B section of the Tax Reporting Statement — it is a US tax form, for US persons only. Where a W-8BEN is on file, US-source dividends are reported on a 1042-S instead, usually issued by 15 March.
Mistakes these documents invite for UK tax
- The cost basis on the document is not the UK base cost. Merrill's cost basis figures follow US rules — usually what was paid, or nothing at all for a nil-cost RSU. Under UK Capital Gains Tax, the base cost of a nil-cost RSU is the market value at vest that was already charged to Income Tax, not the price paid (Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 s119A; HMRC Capital Gains Manual CG56337 and CG56384).
- A dollar figure is not a sterling figure. Where a document states a value in dollars, UK Capital Gains Tax converts each leg separately — the acquisition at the rate for its own date, the disposal at the rate for its own date — never as a single dollar gain converted once, and never at the sterling actually received after a later transfer (HMRC Capital Gains Manual CG78310).
- Shares sold to cover the tax are still a disposal. HMRC treats the whole award as acquired first, so shares sold on the vest day to pay the tax are a same-day disposal in their own right — counted in the number of disposals and in the proceeds, even where the gain on them is nil (HMRC guidance, Employment Related Securities Bulletin 63, January 2026; ERSM140095).
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