Interest Income Worksheet

General Information

Use this Worksheet to enter your interest income items. We then carry these items to Schedule B.

We provide a number of special codes to handle special interest situations. The codes fall into two categories: one category describes the type of interest item, and the other category covers any adjustments you may need to make.

Adjustments

Here's what the various codes mean:

1: Nominee Interest

If you choose Nominee Interest, you have designated the item as partially or completely a "nominee" amount. A "nominee" interest item is one that you receive in your name, but that really belongs to another person.

Example: Suppose that you contributed $6,000 and your sister contributed $4,000 to buy a single $10,000 certificate of deposit, which was registered in your name. Suppose that the interest amount shown on your Form 1099-INT was $800. You gave your sister her $320 share and you kept your $480 share. But the Form 1099-INT shows $800, all in your name. If you report less than $800, the IRS matching program will find you. So what you want to do is to report the full $800, as shown on your Form 1099-INT, but then "back out" the $320 that is really your sister's. You do this by designating the $800 as "Nominee" interest, and entering $320 as the adjustment amount. We'll do the rest. Specifically, we'll enter the $320 on a separate line on Schedule B or Schedule 1 and label it to indicate that it is a nominee adjustment. Then we'll subtract the $320 from the total $800, so that you'll be taxed only on the $480 that is yours.

2: OID Adjustment Required

"OID" stands for "original issue discount." Enter the full amount of interest (as shown on your 1099-OID) in the "Gross Int" entry. Enter the amount of OID adjustment in the "Adj Amt" column. You will typically have an OID adjustment if you didn't buy the security at its original issue, or if it is a so-called "stripped bond" or "stripped coupon" (including zero coupon U.S. Treasury-backed securities), or if you sold it part way through the year. The OID adjustment you enter may be either positive (which will decrease the taxable interest) or negative (which will increase the taxable interest). For help figuring the amount of the OID adjustment, you'll have to refer to IRS Publication 1212.

3: Accrued Interest Adjustment

If you bought or sold a bond between interest dates, you may have an accrued interest adjustment. For a further explanation, see the Interview topic on Interest Income. An adjustment entered as a positive amount will decrease the taxable interest. An adjustment entered as a negative amount will increase the taxable interest.

4: Amortizable Bond Premium

If you received interest this year on a bond you purchased at a premium in 1988 or later, you may offset the interest by amortizing the premium. See IRS Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses, for details. Once you determine the amortization amount, enter the amount as a positive adjustment and your taxable interest will be decreased by the amount of the adjustment.

5: US Savings Bond Adjustment

Situations in which you may be able to take a Savings Bond adjustment include:

6: Other Adjustments

Other adjustments that can offset amounts reported to you on Form 1099-INT are: