To get a 1099 from your bank, log in to your online banking portal after late January and download the PDF from the tax documents section, or wait for the paper copy your bank is required to mail by January 31. If neither shows up, a call to customer service usually resolves it within a few days.
Download It From Your Bank’s Online Portal
Almost every major bank and credit union posts tax forms electronically. The steps are similar across institutions:
- Log in to online banking or the mobile app with your usual credentials and any multi-factor authentication code your bank sends.
- Open the tax documents area. Banks label it differently: “Tax Forms,” “Tax Documents,” “Statements & Documents,” or sometimes buried under “Account Services.” Use the site’s search bar if you can’t find it.
- Pick the tax year from the dropdown. For a return filed in early 2026, you want tax year 2025.
- Download the PDF. You can save it, print it, or import it into tax preparation software.
Forms are generally available by the end of January. Some banks post a few days before the January 31 federal deadline; others wait until the deadline itself.1Internal Revenue Service. A Guide to Information Returns If you check on January 20 and see nothing, that’s normal. Check again after the 31st.
One thing to know about electronic delivery: your bank can only post the form online instead of mailing it if you gave affirmative consent, usually through the same portal where the form appears. You can withdraw that consent at any time and go back to paper.2Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns Look in your account’s communication or delivery preferences to switch.
Get a Paper Copy by Mail
If you haven’t opted into electronic-only delivery, your bank should automatically mail a paper 1099 to the address on file by January 31. Allow a week or two for postal delivery. If it still hasn’t arrived by mid-February, the usual culprits are an outdated mailing address or a preference set to electronic delivery that you didn’t notice.
To request a paper copy directly:
- Call your bank’s customer service line and ask for a duplicate 1099 to be mailed. Have your account number and Social Security number ready for verification.
- Visit a local branch with a government-issued photo ID. Most branches can print the form on the spot.
- Check your online portal’s delivery preferences and switch from electronic to paper for future years so a mailed copy comes automatically.
Which 1099 to Expect From a Bank
Banks don’t send a single generic “1099.” The form depends on the type of income the account earned. The most common one is Form 1099-INT, which reports interest from savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts. Federal law requires your bank to issue this form if you earned at least $10 in interest during the tax year.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6049 – Returns Regarding Payments of Interest Interest counts as taxable income for the year it was credited, whether or not you withdrew it.
If you hold stocks or mutual funds through your bank’s brokerage arm, you’ll receive Form 1099-DIV for any dividends or capital gain distributions paid during the year.4Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions Investors in certain bonds or other debt instruments bought at a discount may get Form 1099-OID instead, covering the built-in interest that accrues over the life of the bond. A 1099-OID is required when the accrued discount reaches $10 or more in a calendar year.5Internal Revenue Service. Publication 1212, Guide to Original Issue Discount (OID) Instruments
Knowing which form you’re waiting for helps when you search the portal or ask a customer service rep, since a bank may have several 1099s available under different account relationships.
When Your 1099 Doesn’t Arrive
If no form shows up online or by mail by early February, start with the bank. Call customer service, confirm your mailing address and delivery preferences, and ask them to resend the form. Most issues get resolved here. Banks have a financial incentive to fix this fast: they face penalties for late or missing forms of $60 per form if corrected within 30 days, escalating to $130 if fixed by August 1, and $340 per form after that. Intentional failures carry a $680 penalty per form.6Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties
If the bank is unresponsive or has closed, and the missing form is a W-2 or 1099-R from a retirement account, the IRS has a formal process: call 800-829-1040 after the end of February, and the IRS will contact the payer on your behalf and send you Form 4852 to use as a substitute.7Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 154, Form W-2 and Form 1099-R Form 4852 only substitutes for W-2 and 1099-R forms. It does not cover a missing 1099-INT.8Internal Revenue Service. About Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, or Form 1099-R
Filing Without a 1099-INT
Here is the part that trips people up: you owe tax on interest income whether or not you receive a form. The 1099-INT is a reporting convenience, not a prerequisite for tax liability. If the form never arrives and you can’t get a replacement, use your bank statements to add up the interest earned during the year and report it on your return. Year-end account summaries, which most banks provide in December or January, usually break out total interest paid for the calendar year. Report that figure on Schedule B of your Form 1040 just as you would with the 1099-INT.
If your bank paid you less than $10 in interest, you won’t receive a 1099-INT at all, because the bank isn’t required to send one.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6049 – Returns Regarding Payments of Interest You still have to report that income. Check your December statement for the interest total and include it.
If the 1099 You Get Is Wrong
If the form shows the wrong interest amount, say your records show $320 but the 1099-INT says $520, contact the bank’s tax department and ask for a corrected form. The bank investigates and, if it agrees the original was wrong, issues a corrected version marked with a “CORRECTED” checkbox at the top.2Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns The bank sends the corrected copy to both you and the IRS so the records match.
This matters because the IRS receives the same data your bank reports. If your return shows $320 and the bank told the IRS $520, the matching system will flag the difference and you could receive a notice proposing additional tax. If a correction is still in progress when the filing deadline arrives, file using the numbers you believe are correct and attach a brief explanation. You can amend later with Form 1040-X if needed.
How Long to Keep Your 1099
Once you’ve filed, hold on to your 1099 forms for at least three years from the date you filed your return. That’s the standard window the IRS has to audit most returns. If you underreported gross income by more than 25%, the IRS gets six years, so keep records that long if there’s any question about completeness. If you never filed a return for a particular year, there’s no statute of limitations, so keep those records indefinitely.9Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records
Digital copies count. If you downloaded a PDF from your bank’s portal, save it somewhere you’ll still have access to years later, not just in the bank’s system, which may only retain documents for a limited period. A backed-up folder on your computer or a cloud storage service works fine.