Form 1099-INT Instructions & Tax Reporting Pointers

What You Need to Know About Form 1099-INT

The 1099-INT is used to report interest income of $10 or more (in boxes 1, 3 and 8) from certain types of accounts, including:

• Interest paid on savings accounts
• Interest-bearing checking accounts
• U.S. Savings Bonds
• Interest earned on Treasury bills
• Withholding on any foreign tax on interest
• Withholding (and did not refund) any federal income tax under the backup withholding rules regardless of the amount of the payment

The 1099-INT also captures other tax items related to interest income, such as early withdrawal penalties, federal income tax withheld and foreign tax paid.

Applicable businesses: Savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks not having capital stock represented by shares, building and loan associations, cooperative banks, homestead associations, credit unions and other financial institutions.

When to file: 1099-INT forms must be mailed to recipients by January 31, and e-filed with the IRS by March 31 each year.

Exceptions do exist. An organization doesn’t need to file form 1099-INT for:

• Payments made to exempt recipients, including corporations, brokers, tax-exempt organizations, IRAs, Archer MSAs, Medicare Advantage MSAs, health savings accounts (HSAs), U.S. agencies, states, the District of Columbia, U.S. possessions, registered securities or commodities dealers, nominees or custodians, brokers and notional principal contract (swap) dealers
• Excludable interest income, including interest on an obligation issued by an individual, interest on amounts from sources outside the U.S. paid outside the U.S. by a non-U.S. payer or non-U.S. middleman, certain portfolio interest, interest on an obligation issued by an international organization and paid by that organization, and payments made to a foreign beneficial owner or foreign payee