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Get the latest tips you need to manage your money — delivered to you biweekly. LoadingSomething is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Paying income taxes is a fact of life. And when the IRS says income, it means all the money you make — both earned, from your work, and unearned, from your investments. That includes interest income — money generated by bank or brokerage accounts, and from certain assets, like bonds or mutual funds. A few exceptions aside, most investment interest is taxable income. You're required to report it on your return and give the government a cut of it. So it helps to know a little more about how interest income impacts your tax bill. What is interest income?Most types of interest income are subject to both federal and state taxes. This includes the interest you earn on or from:
Is any interest income tax-free?Only one major type of asset generates non-taxable interest income: municipal bonds ("munis" for short) and private activity bonds. These are issued by states, counties, cities, and other government agencies to fund major capital projects, such as building public hospitals and schools, highways, power plants, and other civic buildings. All munis, along with municipal bond funds, are exempt from federal taxes. If the bond is issued by your home state, the interest income it provides is also free from state and local income taxes. Fast fact: Municipal bonds free of federal, state, and local taxes are dubbed "triple-tax-exempt" bonds. You also get a bit of a break on US Treasuries and savings bonds. You pay federal income tax on them, but they're exempt from state and local income taxes. What's the tax rate on interest income?Interest income doesn't have a special tax rate the way profits on your investments, aka long-term capital gains, do. You pay taxes on the interest as if it were ordinary income — that is, at the same rate as your other income, such as wages or self-employment earnings. So, if you're in the 24% tax bracket, you'll also pay a 24% rate on your interest income. For the 2020 and 2021 tax years, there are seven tax brackets:
Interest income can also be subject to another tax called the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT). The NIIT is a 3.8% tax on the lesser of:
How do I report interest income on my tax return?Around January 31 of each year, you should receive Form 1099-INT from any bank, brokerage firm, or other sources of interest income showing the interest your investments earned in the prior year. In most cases, it's easy to take the numbers from Form 1099-INT and transfer them to the appropriate place on your tax preparation software or tax return. The figures to focus on are in boxes 1, 3, and 8. Boxes 1 and 3 of Form 1099-INT show regular taxable interest income and taxable interest from US Savings Bonds and Treasury Bonds. Box 8 shows tax-exempt interest. Other boxes on Form 1099-INT
Where is taxable interest income reported on the tax return?If you received more than $1,500 of taxable interest or dividends during the year, you report all of that interest and dividend income on Schedule B attached to your Form 1040. If your earnings didn't reach that threshold, you don't need to fill out Schedule B. Instead, you just report tax-exempt interest and taxable interest on lines 2a and 2b of your Form 1040. Your 1099-INT forms should have all the info you need. They may not be complete, though. Banks and brokerage firms are only required to send you a form if they paid you more than $10 in interest during the year. So if you earned $5 in interest from a savings account, it's still taxable – you just might not get a 1099-INT. So, it's a good idea to keep track of it yourself, too — because you're required to report all interest income on your return, no matter how small. If you have lots of accounts in various places, it could add up. Is there any way to avoid taxes on interest income?It's hard to avoid paying taxes on your interest income, but there are a few strategies to try, especially with assets that generate a lot of income.
The bottom lineNo matter the source, most interest earned by your savings and investments counts as taxable income. It's taxed at the same rate as ordinary income — based on your regular tax bracket for the year. Avoiding interest income tax boils down to seeking out certain exempt assets — mainly municipal bonds and US Treasuries — and using tax-advantaged accounts, in which money earns tax-free or at least tax-deferred. The financial institutions holding your accounts send annual statements of your interest income called Form 1099. So keep track of these, and report all of your investment income. The IRS gets copies of all of your 1099s, so they'll know quickly if you leave anything out. What type of interest income is not taxed as it is earned?Deferred interest income
You do not need to report interest earned on tax-deferred accounts, such as Traditional IRAs or 401(k)s, until you withdraw the earnings.
What type of income is interest income?interest income — the income a person receives from certain bank accounts or from lending money to someone else. taxable interest income — interest income that is subject to income tax. All interest income is taxable unless specifically excluded.
How is interest income taxed?You pay taxes on the interest as if it were ordinary income — that is, at the same rate as your other income, such as wages or self-employment earnings. So, if you're in the 24% tax bracket, you'll also pay a 24% rate on your interest income.
Which interest income is subject to regular tax?TRUE 1. Generally, interest income from non-bank sources is subject to regular income tax.
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