Do I need to report tiny interest earnings (under $1) from multiple bank accounts on my taxes?

Yes, technically ALL interest income is taxable regardless of the amount. However, there's an important practical consideration: banks and financial institutions are only required to issue a 1099-INT form if you earned $10 or more in interest from that institution. For your situation with multiple accounts each earning under $1, you won't receive 1099-INT forms. While the law says all income should be reported, the reality is that these tiny amounts are extremely unlikely to trigger any IRS concerns. If you want to be 100% compliant, you could add up all your interest earnings and report the total on Schedule B. But realistically, the tax impact would be negligible (probably pennies in actual tax), and the IRS systems are designed to focus on more substantial reporting discrepancies.

I was in a similar situation last year and spent HOURS going through statements trying to track down every penny of interest. Then I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it totally changed my approach to these small financial documents. The tool scanned my statements and automatically extracted all that interest data in minutes instead of the hours it would have taken manually. I'm not saying don't report the income - definitely report what you're legally required to - but there are ways to make the process way less painful. The document scanning feature alone saved me from that exact tedious nightmare you're describing with having to search through statements from multiple accounts.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried out taxr.ai after posting my skeptical comment and I'm genuinely impressed. I had a stack of statements from 4 different banks (some with terrible formatting) and it extracted all the interest payments correctly. Saved me at least an hour of manual work! The security seems solid too - I appreciate how transparent they are about not keeping your documents. For anyone dealing with hunting down small financial details across multiple statements, it's definitely worth checking out. Wish I'd known about this tool years ago!

If you're really worried about reporting everything correctly but can't get through to the IRS for confirmation, I'd recommend trying Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I could NOT get anyone on the phone at the IRS to answer this exact question last year, kept getting disconnected after waiting forever. Then I found their service through a YouTube video (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and finally got through to a real person at the IRS who could give me a definitive answer. Honestly thought it was too good to be true but they actually got me connected with an IRS agent who told me that while technically all interest is taxable, they have bigger concerns than tracking down a few dollars in unreported interest from small accounts. The peace of mind from getting an official answer was totally worth it.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I had a question about some investment income reporting that was driving me crazy. It actually worked exactly as advertised - they called me back when they had an IRS agent on the line. Got my question answered in about 10 minutes of actual talking time instead of the 3+ hours I spent previously trying to get through on my own. The agent I spoke with was actually really helpful about my situation. If you need definitive answers straight from the IRS about reporting requirements, it's absolutely worth using. Definitely not the scam I initially thought it was!

Honestly I never report interest under $10 and have never had an issue. Been filing for 20+ years. The bank doesn't even send you a 1099-INT unless it's over $10, and the IRS gets the same info the bank sends you. So if the bank doesn't report it to the IRS, they have no way of knowing you earned that interest anyway.

I'm a bit confused about something. I have a savings account that earned $8.75 in interest last year. My bank didn't send me a 1099-INT. Do I still need to report this? And how do I find the exact amount if I don't have the form?

The confusion here is totally understandable! As a tax professional, I can tell you that while ALL interest income is technically taxable regardless of amount, the practical reality is more nuanced. Here's what I tell my clients: Banks only issue 1099-INT forms for $10+ in interest, but you're still legally required to report smaller amounts. However, the IRS audit algorithms typically focus on much larger discrepancies - we're talking hundreds or thousands of dollars, not a few dollars in interest. For your situation with ~$3.42 total across multiple accounts, you have two options: 1. Be 100% compliant: Add up all the interest from your year-end statements and report the total on your return 2. Practical approach: Many taxpayers don't report amounts under $10 since there's no 1099-INT, and audit risk is essentially zero If you want to report it but don't want the hassle of digging through statements, check your December statements first - most banks show year-to-date interest totals. Much easier than adding up 12 months per account! Bottom line: The tax on $3.42 would be maybe 50 cents depending on your bracket. The choice between strict compliance vs. practical approach is really about your personal comfort level with risk.