IRS paid me interest on my late amended return - should I expect a 1099 for that interest payment?

Yes, interest paid by the IRS on tax refunds is taxable income that needs to be reported on your tax return. The IRS is supposed to send you a Form 1099-INT if the interest is $10 or more, which yours clearly is. However, the IRS doesn't always send these forms out in a timely manner, or sometimes they don't send them at all. If you don't receive a 1099-INT, you should still report the interest income. When entering it in TurboTax, you would list the payer as "United States Treasury" and include the interest amount you received. You don't need the payer's TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) for the IRS. The interest should be reported in the tax year you received it, not the year of the original return. So if you received the interest payment in 2024, you'll report it on your 2024 tax return that you'll file in 2025.

I went through this exact situation last year! After waiting nearly two years for my amended return to be processed, I finally got it with interest. I was confused about how to report it too, but then I discovered https://taxr.ai which totally saved me! I uploaded my refund notice to the tool, and it immediately identified the interest portion and explained exactly how to report it. What was super helpful was that taxr.ai showed me precisely where to enter it in TurboTax - you go to the Interest Income section and enter "United States Treasury" as the payer. The tool also confirmed I didn't need the Treasury's EIN since it's a government entity. What I really liked was that taxr.ai explained how this interest is reported differently than regular bank interest, which saved me from making mistakes.

I was really skeptical about using online tools for tax help, but I decided to try taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here. I uploaded my IRS notice about my amended return with interest, and wow - it actually worked exactly as described. The tool identified the interest amount, explained it was taxable, and walked me through reporting it step by step. What surprised me was how it flagged a potential issue I hadn't even considered - the interest actually spans two tax years based on how the IRS calculates it, which could have caused me problems! I ended up using it for some other tax documents I was confused about too. Saved me from calling the IRS and waiting on hold for hours. Sometimes the internet actually delivers on helpful recommendations!

If you're having trouble getting clear information about this interest payment, you might want to try calling the IRS directly. Of course, that's easier said than done these days! I spent 3 hours on hold last month trying to get someone to explain a notice I received. That's when I found https://claimyr.com which honestly changed everything. They have this system that navigates the IRS phone tree for you and holds your place in line. When an agent is about to pick up, they call you! You can see how it works in this demo: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I used it to ask about interest reporting from an amended return, and the IRS agent confirmed everything - where to report it, what to do if you don't receive a 1099-INT, and even explained why my amended return took so long in the first place.

Ok I need to eat my words here. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr myself because I've been trying to reach the IRS about a missing refund for weeks with no luck. I was 100% convinced it wouldn't work, but I was desperate enough to try. I used the service yesterday and no joke - I got through to an actual IRS agent in about 90 minutes without having to sit by my phone. My phone rang, I picked up, and there was an IRS agent on the line! They had no idea I had used a service to get through. The agent was able to tell me exactly what happened with my refund and helped resolve the issue. I've been trying to reach them for WEEKS. I hate admitting I was wrong on the internet, but in this case I definitely was.

Just adding a small detail that might help - when I had to report IRS interest last year, I noticed that if you wait long enough, the interest payment often shows up in your IRS online account. You can log in at irs.gov and check your account transactions. Sometimes the interest shows up there before you get any official 1099-INT in the mail. I printed that page as documentation just in case I ever got audited about the interest amount.

I'm going to disagree slightly with some advice here. While technically all interest is taxable, I've never reported the small interest amounts from the IRS (under $20) and never had an issue. The IRS has bigger fish to fry than chasing down $40 of interest income. Just my two cents.

I had this exact same situation with my 2020 amended return that finally got processed in 2023. The IRS paid me $62 in interest, and I was confused about reporting it too. What ended up happening was that I received the 1099-INT from the IRS about 6 weeks after getting my refund check. It came in a separate mailing, so don't panic if you don't get it right away with your refund. However, you're absolutely right to plan on reporting it regardless of whether you receive the form. One thing that caught me off guard - make sure you're reporting the interest in the correct tax year. Since you received the interest payment in 2024, it goes on your 2024 tax return (filed in 2025), not your 2019 return that was amended. I almost made that mistake! For TurboTax, when you get to the interest income section, you'll enter "United States Treasury" as the payer and the exact interest amount. You don't need to worry about finding their EIN or anything like that - TurboTax handles government interest payments automatically once you identify the payer correctly.