What tax forms your bank sends you
Your bank sends you a Form 1099-INT if your checking account earned $10 or more in interest during the year. This form reports that interest income to you and to the IRS. Most basic checking accounts earn little or no interest, so many account holders never receive one.
If your account is a money market account or a high-yield savings account linked to checking, you're more likely to get a 1099-INT because those accounts typically pay interest. The threshold is $10 for the year—if you earned $9.99 in interest, the bank does not send the form, though you still owe tax on that income.
Your bank will also send you a Form 1098-T only if you used a Coverdell Education Savings Account or a 529 plan through that bank. Standard checking accounts do not generate this form.
Key Takeaways
- Most checking accounts do not produce any tax form because they earn no interest or interest below $10 per year.
- Form 1099-INT arrives if your account earned $10 or more in interest, and you must report that income on your tax return.
- Banks mail 1099-INT forms by January 31 each year for the prior calendar year's interest.
- You receive a copy; the IRS receives a copy; keep yours with your tax records even if the amount is small.
- If you do not receive a 1099-INT but believe you should have, contact your bank to request a duplicate or correction.
When the bank sends the form and where to find it
Banks must mail Form 1099-INT by January 31 of the year following the one in which you earned the interest. If you earned interest in 2024, you'll receive the form by January 31, 2025. Some banks also make the form available online through your account dashboard before mailing the paper copy.
Log into your bank's website and look for a section labeled "Tax Documents," "1099 Forms," or "Year-End Statements." Many banks let you download the form as a PDF weeks before the physical copy arrives. If you cannot find it online and January 31 has passed, call your bank's customer service line and ask them to mail or email a duplicate.
The form shows your account number (usually partially masked for security), the bank's name and tax ID number, and the total interest paid to that account during the calendar year. It will list the interest in Box 1.
What to do with the form when you file taxes
Report the interest amount from Box 1 of your 1099-INT on your tax return. If you file Form 1040, this goes on Schedule 1, line 8 (Interest). If you use tax software, it will prompt you to enter this information, and the software will place it in the correct location.
You do not mail the 1099-INT to the IRS—they receive their own copy directly from your bank. Keep your copy with your tax records for at least three years in case the IRS asks questions about your return.
If the interest amount on the form is wrong, contact your bank immediately and ask for a corrected form. The bank will issue a Form 1099-INT with "CORRECTED" printed on it and send corrected copies to both you and the IRS. Do not file your return until you have the corrected form.
Interest thresholds and multiple accounts
The $10 threshold applies per bank, not per account. If you have two checking accounts at the same bank and earned $6 in one and $5 in the other, the bank combines them and sends you a 1099-INT for $11 total. If you have accounts at two different banks and earned $8 at each, neither bank sends a form because each bank's total is below $10.
If you earned interest at multiple banks, you will receive a separate 1099-INT from each one. Report all of them on your tax return—the IRS will have received copies from each bank as well, and they cross-check.
What happens if you never receive a form
If January 31 has passed and you have not received a 1099-INT but your account earned interest, contact your bank's customer service department. Have your account number ready and ask them to confirm whether interest was paid and whether a form was mailed. Request a duplicate if one was sent but you did not receive it, or ask them to issue a corrected form if they made an error in their records.
If your bank says no form was issued because interest was below $10, you still owe tax on that income. Report it on your return under "Other Income" if it does not appear on a 1099-INT.
Keep records of all interest payments your bank shows in your monthly statements. If a dispute arises with the IRS later, your statements prove what you earned and reported.
Joint accounts and tax forms
If your checking account is jointly owned, the bank typically sends the 1099-INT to the primary account holder only. Both owners are responsible for reporting the interest, but only one receives the form. The secondary owner should ask the primary owner for a copy or contact the bank to request one.
The IRS receives only one 1099-INT per account, so if both owners report the full interest amount, you will have reported it twice. Coordinate with your co-owner on how to split the income on your respective returns, or one person reports it all and the other reports none. The bank's form does not specify how to divide it—that is between you and your co-owner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to report interest if I did not receive a 1099-INT?
Yes. The $10 threshold only determines whether the bank sends you a form, not whether you owe tax. If your account earned any interest, you must report it on your return. Check your monthly statements for the total interest paid during the year.
What if my bank sent a 1099-INT but the amount is wrong?
Contact your bank immediately and provide them with your monthly statements showing the correct total. Ask them to issue a corrected 1099-INT. Do not file your return until you have the corrected form, because the IRS will have received the incorrect amount from the bank and may flag your return.
Can I get a 1099-INT for a closed account?
Yes. If you closed the account during the year and it earned interest before closing, the bank will still send a 1099-INT for that interest by January 31. The form covers the calendar year, not the time the account was open.
Do I need to attach the 1099-INT to my tax return?
No. You report the amount on your return, but you do not mail the form to the IRS. Keep it with your records. If you file electronically, you do not include it at all.
What if I have a checking account that earns interest but the bank did not send a form?
Call the bank and ask whether interest was actually paid to your account that year. If it was and the total was $10 or more, request a 1099-INT. If the total was below $10, the bank is not required to send one, but you still report the interest on your return.