Earned interest under $10 not reported on my tax filing - do I need to amend?

You're dealing with what's called "de minimis" interest - essentially amounts so small they barely matter in the grand scheme. Technically, ALL taxable interest should be reported regardless of amount. But here's the practical reality: The banks are only required to issue 1099-INT forms when interest is $10 or more per account. However, taxpayers are still supposed to report all interest, even amounts under $10. That said, the likelihood of the IRS pursuing you for $20 of unreported interest is extremely low. We're talking about possibly $2-4 in actual tax liability depending on your tax bracket. If you want to be 100% by-the-book compliant, you would file Form 1040-X to amend your return. But many tax professionals would tell you that the administrative burden outweighs the benefit for such a small amount.

I faced the EXACT same situation last year with about $30 in unreported interest across a few accounts. Instead of messing with amended returns, I used https://taxr.ai to analyze the 1099-INTs and my original filing. The system confirmed what I suspected - the impact was minimal and provided documentation explaining my situation if I ever needed to explain it. They have this cool feature that analyzes the risk level of small discrepancies like this and shows you what the actual tax difference would be.

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai since I was skeptical before. I ended up trying it because I discovered I had forgotten about $60 in crypto earnings (not just tiny interest amounts). The service actually identified two other issues I hadn't even noticed - a miscalculated education credit and some dividend income that was categorized wrong. Ended up saving me from a potential audit flag! The analysis was super detailed and showed me exactly what I needed to fix vs. what wasn't worth worrying about. Definitely changed my mind about its usefulness.

If you're worried about the IRS questioning this, try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I had a similar small interest reporting issue last year and couldn't get anyone at the IRS on the phone to tell me if I needed to amend. Spent DAYS trying to get through. With Claimyr (see how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c), I got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes who confirmed I didn't need to file an amendment for such a small amount. They told me to just include it on next year's return.

OK I need to eat crow here. After posting my skeptical comment, I was so frustrated with waiting on hold with the IRS about a refund issue that I tried Claimyr out of desperation. Not gonna lie, I was 100% prepared to come back here and call it a scam. But damn, it actually worked. Got a call back in about 45 mins connecting me to an IRS rep who resolved my issue. Just saved me from filing an amendment that would have delayed my refund by months. Sometimes being wrong feels pretty good!

OP if you want the easy solution, just include that interest income on NEXT year's return. I've had CPAs tell me this is fine for small amounts. The IRS isn't going to come after you for a couple bucks in taxes. Just make a note somewhere so you remember to add it next year.

This happened to me 2 years ago with about $15 in interest. I called the IRS helpline and after waiting forever, they told me not to bother amending for such a small amount but to keep the documentation in case of an audit. The agent literally said "we have bigger fish to fry" lol. Your mileage may vary tho!

Guys - this really isn't worth worrying about. The IRS matching program probably won't even flag this since the banks don't report sub-$10 interest to them anyway. And even if by some miracle they do notice, they'll send a letter adjusting your tax by a few dollars. No penalties for amounts this small. Sleep easy and forget about it!

Nathan, I totally get your frustration here! I went through something similar last year with around $12 in forgotten interest from an old CD that matured. After reading through all the advice here, I think the consensus is pretty clear - technically you should report it, but practically it's not worth the headache. What I ended up doing was keeping all the documentation (the 1099-INT forms) in a file with my tax records for that year. If the IRS ever questions it (which is super unlikely), I have everything to show it was an honest oversight, not intentional tax evasion. The actual tax impact is probably less than what you'd spend on postage to mail an amended return! My CPA told me that for amounts this small, the IRS computer systems probably won't even flag it as a discrepancy. They're looking for bigger fish - people hiding thousands in income, not someone who forgot about $20 in bank interest. Keep the paperwork, don't lose sleep over it, and maybe just double-check all your accounts before filing next year.

Nathan, you've gotten some great advice here! As someone who's dealt with similar situations, I'd say you're overthinking this. The reality is that for $20 in total interest, you're looking at maybe $3-5 in additional tax liability depending on your bracket. Here's my practical take: keep those 1099-INT statements with your tax records for this year. If the IRS ever sends you a notice (which is extremely unlikely for amounts this small), you can respond showing it was an inadvertent omission, not tax evasion. The penalties for good-faith errors on such small amounts are typically waived. I've seen people spend more on gas driving to their CPA's office than the actual tax they owed on forgotten interest! The administrative cost to both you and the IRS far outweighs the revenue involved. Just make sure to be more thorough gathering all your tax documents before filing next year - maybe set up a checklist or calendar reminder to review all accounts in January. Bottom line: document it, don't stress about it, and focus your energy on more important financial matters. The IRS has bigger priorities than chasing down $20 in bank interest.