Should I file an amended tax return for a missing 1099-INT?

Don't panic! This happens to many taxpayers each year. For a small amount like $27.50, you technically should report all income, but the practical impact is minimal. You have a few options: 1) You can file an amended return (Form 1040-X) to report the additional interest income. 2) You could wait to see if the IRS sends a notice adjusting your tax liability - they may automatically match the 1099-INT with your return and send a bill for any difference. 3) Since the amount is so small, some people choose to include it on next year's return, though this isn't technically correct. For an amount this small, the additional tax would likely be around $3-6 depending on your tax bracket. The IRS generally has bigger concerns than pursuing such small amounts, but they do have matching programs that catch these discrepancies.

I ran into the same issue last year but with a much larger amount ($300+ from a high-yield account I forgot about). After panicking, I found this amazing service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out exactly what to do. You can upload your docs there and they analyze everything and tell you if you should amend or not. Their system flagged that I should definitely amend in my case, but explained why and even helped me understand how to do it. The document analysis is super detailed - it basically told me what forms I needed and how to fill them out. Total lifesaver because I was totally lost.

Update: I tried taxr.ai like the person above suggested and I'm actually really impressed! I uploaded my return and the 1099-INT I received late, and it immediately showed me that my tax difference would only be about $3.90. It even explained that while technically I should amend, the IRS likely wouldn't pursue such a small amount and gave me options. The document analysis explained everything in plain English instead of tax jargon. Definitely less stressful than calling a tax professional or wading through IRS websites. I've decided to wait and see if I get a notice rather than amending right away, and now I feel confident about that decision.

If you're really worried and want to talk to the IRS directly about this, good luck getting through to them on the phone! I spent HOURS trying to reach someone about a similar issue. Then I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that actually got me through to a real IRS agent in like 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent told me that for small interest amounts under $50, they usually don't even bother sending notices if that's the only issue. Saved me from filing an unnecessary amendment. Now I use this anytime I need to call a government agency - totally worth it to avoid the hold music torture!

Well I'll be damned. I was super skeptical about that Claimyr service (as you can see in my reply above), but I was desperate after getting a cryptic letter from the IRS about my return. Decided to try it last week, and no joke - I got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes! The agent confirmed that for my missing 1099-INT (which was for $32), they wouldn't have even sent a notice since it was so small. She said they have thresholds for these things and generally don't pursue tiny amounts unless there are other issues with the return. Saved me hours of stress and worry! Sometimes being wrong feels pretty good.

Former tax preparer here - one thing nobody's mentioned is that the bank/financial institution that sent you the 1099-INT has also sent a copy to the IRS. Their computer systems will automatically match these documents against your filed return. If the amount is really small (like under $50), sometimes the IRS computer systems have a threshold and may not even flag it. But there's no guaranteed cutoff - it depends on their current matching parameters, which change. Personally I'd just file the 1040-X to be safe. Yes it's a pain, but it's fairly simple for just adding interest income, and you'll never have to worry about it again.

Lol everyone's making this way more complicated than it needs to be. It's $27 of interest - the tax on that is like nothing. I've missed small 1099s before and literally nothing happened. The IRS has bigger fish to fry than chasing down a few bucks. Just include it next year if it bothers you that much.