How Much Interest Do You Need to Earn for a 1099-INT?

You need to earn at least $10 in interest from a single payer during the year for that bank, credit union, or brokerage to be required to send you a Form 1099-INT. That $10 figure is the federal reporting threshold for the payer. It is not a tax-free allowance for you: interest under $10 is still taxable income you must report, and a few situations override the threshold entirely.

The $10 Threshold, Measured Per Payer

Federal law requires any person or institution that pays you $10 or more in interest during a calendar year to file a Form 1099-INT with both you and the IRS.¹ The threshold covers the interest most people actually earn: savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and corporate bonds.

The measurement is per payer, not across your entire financial life. If you keep small balances at three different banks and each pays you $7 in interest, none of them has to send a 1099-INT, even though you earned $21 in total. The same rule applies to digital financial platforms that pay interest on cash balances. A payment app or fintech company holding your money follows the same $10 trigger as a traditional bank.

Government payers are not exempt. The IRS itself sends a 1099-INT if it paid you at least $10 in interest on a delayed refund.²

When the Threshold Is Different

Two situations change the rule.

The first is interest paid in the course of a trade or business that doesn’t fit the standard Box 1 categories. Interest on a seller-financed loan or interest included with delayed insurance benefits, for example, uses a $600 reporting threshold rather than $10.²

The second cuts the other way. If backup withholding applies to your account, the payer must issue a 1099-INT no matter how small the interest, even if you earned only a few cents.³ Backup withholding is a 24% cut the payer takes out of your interest and sends straight to the IRS.⁴ It kicks in when:

You didn’t give the institution a Taxpayer Identification Number on Form W-9 when you opened the account.
The IRS told the payer your TIN is wrong, often because of a typo in your Social Security number.
You previously underreported interest or dividends and the IRS, after sending four notices over at least 120 days, directed your payer to begin withholding.
You failed to certify on your W-9 that you aren’t subject to backup withholding.

The withheld amount appears in Box 4 of the 1099-INT and comes back to you as a credit when you file your return.

You Still Owe Tax on Interest Under $10

The $10 figure controls the payer’s paperwork. It does not control your tax bill. The IRS requires you to report all taxable and tax-exempt interest on your federal return, whether or not a 1099-INT arrived.⁵

The practical step is to check your year-end account statements. Any interest total that didn’t generate a form still belongs on your Form 1040. This matters most when small amounts add up across several accounts, since none of them individually crossed the reporting line but the total is still taxable income.

Schedule B and the $1,500 Line

If your total taxable interest from all sources is more than $1,500 for the year, you must file Schedule B along with your Form 1040 and list each payer and amount separately. Schedule B is also required if you received interest as a nominee, meaning a 1099-INT was issued in your name for interest that partly belongs to someone else, such as a co-owner on a joint account. You report the full amount, then subtract the other person’s share as a nominee distribution and issue them their own 1099-INT.⁶

When the Form Should Arrive

Payers must get your 1099-INT to you by January 31 of the year after you earned the interest. For 2025 interest, January 31, 2026 falls on a Saturday, so the deadline shifts to February 2, 2026.⁷ Most institutions send the form by mail or post it in an online banking documents section.

Electronic delivery only counts if you gave affirmative consent beforehand, and the institution must have told you in advance how to request a paper copy, how to withdraw your consent, and what software you need to view the form.⁷ If you’re not sure whether you opted into electronic delivery, log in and look. The form may already be waiting in a documents section you haven’t checked.

If a Form You Expected Never Comes

If you earned $10 or more in interest and no 1099-INT has arrived by mid-February, call the institution and confirm your mailing address or ask for a copy. If that doesn’t resolve it, you can call the IRS at 800-829-1040 for assistance. Have your Social Security number and the payer’s name, address, and phone number ready.⁸

If a form arrives with the wrong amount, ask the payer for a corrected version. Don’t wait indefinitely. If your filing deadline is close and the corrected form still hasn’t come, file your return using the best information you have, such as year-end account statements, and file Form 1040-X to amend the return later if the numbers change.⁸

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6049 – Returns Regarding Payments of Interest
2
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-INT and 1099-OID
3
eCFR. 26 CFR 1.6049-4 – Return of Information as to Interest Paid
4
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 307, Backup Withholding
5
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 403, Interest Received
6
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule B (Form 1040)
7
Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns
8
Internal Revenue Service. What to Do When a W-2 or Form 1099 Is Missing or Incorrect