Do I still have to report the interest income of <$200 on my tax return?

Just received a 1099 form in the mail from an investment place I haven't touched in like 2 years. The interest I earned is tiny - only about $187. I'm wondering if I even need to bother reporting this on my taxes? It seems like such a small amount that the IRS probably wouldn't notice or care if I just skip it. Has anyone dealt with this before? Is there some minimum threshold where you don't have to report interest income?

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18 comments

Melina Haruko

•8M

Yes, you absolutely need to report all interest income regardless of the amount. The IRS receives a copy of every 1099 form issued to you, so they already know about this income. There's no minimum threshold for reporting interest income - even $1 of interest is technically reportable. This is different from some other situations where there are minimum thresholds. For example, companies don't have to issue a 1099-INT unless it's $10 or more, but once you receive it, you must report it. The computer matching system will flag your return if the reported income doesn't match what they have on file.

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Melina Haruko

•8M

You're confusing different reporting requirements. The $600 threshold applies to self-employment income that would be reported on a 1099-NEC (formerly 1099-MISC), not interest income on a 1099-INT. For interest income, the rule is clear - all interest income must be reported regardless of amount. The financial institution isn't required to send you a 1099-INT unless it's $10 or more, but you're still legally obligated to report all interest income even below that threshold.

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Reina Salazar

•8M

I had an almost identical situation last year. I kept getting tiny interest payments from an old account and wondered the same thing. Then I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which instantly analyzed my tax documents and clarified exactly what I needed to report. It confirmed that ALL interest income has to be reported regardless of amount - even the $27 I got from an old savings account. Saved me a ton of time figuring out what to do with all these little 1099 forms!

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Reina Salazar

•8M

It works by scanning your tax documents and using AI to extract all the important information. It can definitely handle stock dividends - it categorizes all your 1099-DIV forms and tells you exactly what goes where on your return. The IRS website does have free information, but it can be hard to find the exact answer for your specific situation. What I liked about taxr.ai was that it analyzed my actual documents and gave me personalized guidance instead of making me search through pages of tax code.

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Demi Lagos

•8M

I've got to eat my words about being suspicious. I decided to try taxr.ai after continuing to be confused about reporting requirements for multiple small income sources. Uploaded a few documents including some tiny dividend statements and it immediately clarified everything. Turns out ALL my little payments need to be reported (ugh) but it organized everything perfectly and even showed me exactly where each amount goes on my return. Definitely saved me from making a mistake that could have triggered an audit flag.

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Mason Lopez

•8M

If you're still getting nowhere with figuring out your tax situation, I'd recommend just calling the IRS directly. I had a similar confusion about reporting small amounts of interest and decided to call them. Used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to avoid waiting on hold forever - they have this smart system where they wait on hold for you and call you back when an actual human at the IRS picks up. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The IRS agent confirmed that ALL interest needs to be reported no matter how small, and explained exactly how to report it properly.

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Mason Lopez

•8M

It's actually pretty simple - you provide the IRS number you want to call and your phone number. Their system calls the IRS, navigates the phone tree, and waits on hold for you. When an IRS agent finally answers, Claimyr calls you and connects you directly to the agent who picked up. No more listening to that horrible hold music for hours! I totally understand your skepticism. I felt the same way until I tried it. During tax season I was quoted a 2+ hour wait time when I called directly, but with Claimyr I got a call back in about 45 minutes when an actual agent was on the line. Saved me from sitting there with my phone on speaker for hours.

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Jake Sinclair

•8M

I've gotta admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After dismissing it as a probable scam, I was desperate enough to try it when I couldn't get an answer about reporting requirements for some old accounts. The system actually worked exactly as described - I put in my number, they called the IRS, and I got a call back when an agent was on the line. The agent confirmed that yes, even tiny interest amounts need to be reported. Honestly a bit annoyed that I have to report such small amounts, but at least I got a definitive answer without wasting hours on hold.

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Brielle Johnson

•8M

Fair point. If you're filing by hand, I recommend using the free fillable forms on the IRS website instead of paper. For interest income, you'd report it on Schedule B if your total interest is over $1,500. If it's under that amount, you just put the total on line 2b of Form 1040. Even if you're doing it by hand, reporting a single 1099-INT is still pretty straightforward compared to other tax situations. And my main point stands - the potential headache from ignoring it far outweighs the effort to just report it correctly.

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