What this line means
The itemized list of every payer who paid you taxable interest during the year, along with the dollar amount from each. Copy payer names and amounts directly from your 1099-INT forms (Box 1). If you earned interest from sources that did not issue a 1099-INT — because the amount was under $10 — you list those payers here as well.
Does this apply to you?
- You earned more than $1,500 in total taxable interest during the year
- You received 1099-INT forms from banks, brokerages, or credit unions
- You earned interest from a seller-financed mortgage or personal loan
- You received interest as a nominee on behalf of another person
Easy to overlook
Interest from accounts at banks you no longer use If you closed a bank account, switched brokerages, or cashed out a CD early in the year, that institution still issues a 1099-INT for interest earned through the closing date. Filers who changed banks forget to list these payers. The IRS receives every 1099-INT and matches it against your return. 1 CP2000 pattern — unreported interest from forgotten accounts
Original issue discount (OID) reported on 1099-OID If you hold zero-coupon bonds or certain other debt instruments bought at a discount, the annual imputed interest appears on Form 1099-OID, not 1099-INT. This OID amount belongs in the Part I listing alongside your 1099-INT amounts. Filers who only look for 1099-INT forms miss the OID amount entirely. 2 IRS Schedule B instructions — Part I
Watch out for this
Listing interest from tax-exempt municipal bonds in Part I. Tax-exempt interest goes on Form 1040 line 2a, not here. Part I is exclusively for taxable interest. Including municipal bond interest inflates your taxable income and overstates the amount carried to Form 1040 line 2b.
Footnotes
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IRS CP2000 Notice, Automated Underreporter Program, Interest Income Matching. https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-cp2000-notice ↩
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IRS Schedule B (Form 1040) Instructions, Part I. https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040sb ↩