Tax on investment income of certain children.   Part of a child's 2008 investment income may be taxed at the parent's tax rate. This may happen if all of the following are true. A child born on January 1, 1991, is considered to be age 18 at the end of 2008; a child born on January 1, 1990, is considered to be age 19 at the end of 2008; a child born on January 1, 1985, is considered to be age 24 at the end of 2008.

   If all these statements are true, Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children With Investment Income of More Than $1,800, must be completed and attached to the child's tax return. If any of these statements is not true, Form 8615 is not required and the child's income is taxed at his or her own tax rate.

  However, the parent can choose to include the child's interest and dividends on the parent's return if certain requirements are met. Use Form 8814, Parents' Election To Report Child's Interest and Dividends, for this purpose.

  For more information about the tax on investment income of children and the parents' election, see chapter 31.

Beneficiary of an estate or trust.   Interest you receive as a beneficiary of an estate or trust is generally taxable income. You should receive a Schedule K-1 (Form 1041), Beneficiary's Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc., from the fiduciary. Your copy of Schedule K-1 and its instructions will tell you where to report the income on your Form 1040.

Social security number (SSN).   You must give your name and SSN to any person required by federal tax law to make a return, statement, or other document that relates to you. This includes payers of interest.

SSN for joint account.   If the funds in a joint account belong to one person, list that person's name first on the account and give that person's SSN to the payer. (For information on who owns the funds in a joint account, see Joint accounts , later.) If the joint account contains combined funds, give the SSN of the person whose name is listed first on the account.

  These rules apply both to joint ownership by a married couple and to joint ownership by other individuals. For example, if you open a joint savings account with your child using funds belonging to the child, list the child's name first on the account and give the child's SSN.

Custodian account for your child.   If your child is the actual owner of an account that is recorded in your name as custodian for the child, give the child's SSN to the payer. For example, you must give your child's SSN to the payer of interest on an account owned by your child, even though the interest is paid to you as custodian.

Penalty for failure to supply SSN.   If you do not give your SSN to the payer of interest, you may have to pay a penalty. See Failure to supply social security number under Penalties in chapter 1. Backup withholding also may apply.

Backup withholding.   Your interest income is generally not subject to regular withholding. However, it may be subject to backup withholding to ensure that income tax is collected on the income. Under backup withholding, the payer of interest must withhold, as income tax, 28% of the amount you are paid.

  Backup withholding may also be required if the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has determined that you underreported your interest or dividend income. For more information, see Backup Withholding in chapter 4.

Reporting backup withholding.   If backup withholding is deducted from your interest income, the payer must give you a Form 1099-INT for the year that indicates the amount withheld. The Form 1099-INT will show any backup withholding as “Federal income tax withheld.”

Joint accounts.   If two or more persons hold property (such as a savings account or bond) as joint tenants, tenants by the entirety, or tenants in common, each person's share of any interest from the property is determined by local law.

Income from property given to a child.   Property you give as a parent to your child under the Model Gifts of Securities to Minors Act, the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, or any similar law becomes the child's property.

  Income from the property is taxable to the child, except that any part used to satisfy a legal obligation to support the child is taxable to the parent or guardian having that legal obligation.

Savings account with parent as trustee.   Interest income from a savings account opened for a child who is a minor, but placed in the name and subject to the order of the parents as trustees, is taxable to the child if, under the law of the state in which the child resides, both of the following are true.

Form 1099-INT.   Interest income is generally reported to you on Form 1099-INT, or a similar statement, by banks, savings and loans, and other payers of interest. This form shows you the interest you received during the year. Keep this form for your records. You do not have to attach it to your tax return.

  Report on your tax return the total amount of interest income that you receive for the tax year.

Interest not reported on Form 1099-INT.   Even if you do not receive Form 1099-INT, you must still report all of your taxable interest income. For example, you may receive distributive shares of interest from partnerships or S corporations. This interest is reported to you on Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) or Schedule K-1 (Form 1120S).

Nominees.   Generally, if someone receives interest as a nominee for you, that person will give you a Form 1099-INT showing the interest received on your behalf.

  If you receive a Form 1099-INT that includes amounts belonging to another person, see the discussion on nominee distributions under How To Report Interest Income in chapter 1 of Publication 550, or see the Schedule 1 (Form 1040A) or Schedule B (Form 1040) instructions.

Incorrect amount.   If you receive a Form 1099-INT that shows an incorrect amount (or other incorrect information), you should ask the issuer for a corrected form. The new Form 1099-INT you receive will be marked “Corrected.”

Form 1099-OID.   Reportable interest income may also be shown on Form 1099-OID, Original Issue Discount. For more information about amounts shown on this form, see Original Issue Discount (OID) , later in this chapter.

Exempt-interest dividends.   Exempt-interest dividends you receive from a mutual fund or other regulated investment company are not included in your taxable income. (However, see Information-reporting requirement , next.) Exempt-interest dividends should be shown in box 8 of Form 1099-INT.

Information-reporting requirement.   Although exempt-interest dividends are not taxable, you must show them on your tax return if you have to file. This is an information-reporting requirement and does not change the exempt-interest dividends into taxable income.

Interest on VA dividends.   Interest on insurance dividends that you leave on deposit with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is not taxable. This includes interest paid on dividends on converted United States Government Life Insurance and on National Service Life Insurance policies.

Individual retirement arrangements (IRAs).   Interest on a Roth IRA generally is not taxable. Interest on a traditional IRA is tax deferred. You generally do not include it in your income until you make withdrawals from the IRA. See chapter 17.

Dividends that are actually interest.   Certain distributions commonly called dividends are actually interest. You must report as interest so-called “dividends” on deposits or on share accounts in:

Money market funds.   Generally, amounts you receive from money market funds should be reported as dividends, not as interest.

Certificates of deposit and other deferred interest accounts.   If you open any of these accounts, interest may be paid at fixed intervals of 1 year or less during the term of the account. You generally must include this interest in your income when you actually receive it or are entitled to receive it without paying a substantial penalty. The same is true for accounts that mature in 1 year or less and pay interest in a single payment at maturity. If interest is deferred for more than 1 year, see Original Issue Discount (OID) , later.

Interest subject to penalty for early withdrawal.   If you withdraw funds from a deferred interest account before maturity, you may have to pay a penalty. You must report the total amount of interest paid or credited to your account during the year, without subtracting the penalty. See Penalty on early withdrawal of savings in chapter 1 of Publication 550 for more information on how to report the interest and deduct the penalty.

Money borrowed to invest in certificate of deposit.   The interest you pay on money borrowed from a bank or savings institution to meet the minimum deposit required for a certificate of deposit from the institution and the interest you earn on the certificate are two separate items. You must report the total interest you earn on the certificate in your income. If you itemize deductions, you can deduct the interest you pay as investment interest, up to the amount of your net investment income. See Interest Expenses in chapter 3 of Publication 550.

Gift for opening account.   If you receive noncash gifts or services for making deposits or for opening an account in a savings institution, you may have to report the value as interest.

  For deposits of less than $5,000, gifts or services valued at more than $10 must be reported as interest. For deposits of $5,000 or more, gifts or services valued at more than $20 must be reported as interest. The value is determined by the cost to the financial institution.

Interest on insurance dividends.   Interest on insurance dividends left on deposit with an insurance company that can be withdrawn annually is taxable to you in the year it is credited to your account. However, if you can withdraw it only on the anniversary date of the policy (or other specified date), the interest is taxable in the year that date occurs.

Prepaid insurance premiums.   Any increase in the value of prepaid insurance premiums, advance premiums, or premium deposit funds is interest if it is applied to the payment of premiums due on insurance policies or made available for you to withdraw.

U.S. obligations.   Interest on U.S. obligations, such as U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and bonds, issued by any agency or instrumentality of the United States is taxable for federal income tax purposes.

Interest on tax refunds.   Interest you receive on tax refunds is taxable income.

Interest on condemnation award.   If the condemning authority pays you interest to compensate you for a delay in payment of an award, the interest is taxable.

Installment sale payments.   If a contract for the sale or exchange of property provides for deferred payments, it also usually provides for interest payable with the deferred payments. That interest is taxable when you receive it. If little or no interest is provided for in a deferred payment contract, part of each payment may be treated as interest. See Unstated Interest and Original Issue Discount in Publication 537, Installment Sales.

Interest on annuity contract.   Accumulated interest on an annuity contract you sell before its maturity date is taxable.

Usurious interest.   Usurious interest is interest charged at an illegal rate. This is taxable as interest unless state law automatically changes it to a payment on the principal.

Interest income on frozen deposits.   Exclude from your gross income interest on frozen deposits. A deposit is frozen if, at the end of the year, you cannot withdraw any part of the deposit because:

  The amount of interest you must exclude is the interest that was credited on the frozen deposits minus the sum of: If you receive a Form 1099-INT for interest income on deposits that were frozen at the end of 2008, see Frozen deposits under How To Report Interest Income in chapter 1 of Publication 550, for information about reporting this interest income exclusion on your tax return.

  The interest you exclude is treated as credited to your account in the following year. You must include it in income in the year you can withdraw it.

Bonds traded flat.   If you buy a bond at a discount when interest has been defaulted or when the interest has accrued but has not been paid, the transaction is described as trading a bond flat. The defaulted or unpaid interest is not income and is not taxable as interest if paid later. When you receive a payment of that interest, it is a return of capital that reduces the remaining cost basis of your bond. Interest that accrues after the date of purchase, however, is taxable interest income for the year it is received or accrued. See Bonds Sold Between Interest Dates , later, for more information.

Below-market loans.   In general, a below-market loan is a loan on which no interest is charged or on which interest is charged at a rate below the applicable federal rate. See Below-Market Loans in chapter 1 of Publication 550 for more information.

This section provides tax information on U.S. savings bonds. It explains how to report the interest income on these bonds and how to treat transfers of these bonds.

For other information on U.S. savings bonds, write to:
Or, on the Internet, visit:
www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/products/products.htm.

You may be able to exclude from income all or part of the interest you receive on the redemption of qualified U.S. savings bonds during the year if you pay qualified higher educational expenses during the same year. This exclusion is known as the Education Savings Bond Program.

You do not qualify for this exclusion if your filing status is married filing separately.

Recordkeeping.If you claim the interest exclusion, you must keep a written record of the qualified U.S. savings bonds you redeem. Your record must include the serial number, issue date, face value, and total redemption proceeds (principal and interest) of each bond. You can use Form 8818, Optional Form To Record Redemption of Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989, to record this information. You should also keep bills, receipts, canceled checks, or other documentation that shows you paid qualified higher educational expenses during the year.

Treasury bills, notes, and bonds are direct debts (obligations) of the U.S. Government.

For other information on Treasury notes or bonds, write to:
Or, on the Internet, visit: www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/indiv.htm

For information on series EE, series I, and series HH savings bonds, see U.S. Savings Bonds , earlier.

If you sell a bond between interest payment dates, part of the sales price represents interest accrued to the date of sale. You must report that part of the sales price as interest income for the year of sale.

If you buy a bond between interest payment dates, part of the purchase price represents interest accrued before the date of purchase. When that interest is paid to you, treat it as a return of your capital investment, rather than interest income, by reducing your basis in the bond. See Accrued interest on bonds under How To Report Interest Income in chapter 1 of Publication 550 for information on reporting the payment.

Life insurance proceeds paid to you as beneficiary of the insured person are usually not taxable. But if you receive the proceeds in installments, you must usually report a part of each installment payment as interest income.

For more information about insurance proceeds received in installments, see Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income.

Interest on a bond used to finance government operations generally is not taxable if the bond is issued by a state, the District of Columbia, a possession of the United States, or any of their political subdivisions.

Bonds issued after 1982 by an Indian tribal government are treated as issued by a state. Interest on these bonds is generally tax exempt if the bonds are part of an issue of which substantially all of the proceeds are to be used in the exercise of any essential government function.

Interest on arbitrage bonds issued by state or local governments after October 9, 1969, is taxable.

Interest on a private activity bond that is not a qualified bond is taxable. For more information on whether such interest is taxable or tax exempt, see State or Local Government Obligations in chapter 1 of Publication 550.

Original issue discount (OID) is a form of interest. You generally include OID in your income as it accrues over the term of the debt instrument, whether or not you receive any payments from the issuer.

A debt instrument generally has OID when the instrument is issued for a price that is less than its stated redemption price at maturity. OID is the difference between the stated redemption price at maturity and the issue price.

All debt instruments that pay no interest before maturity are presumed to be issued at a discount. Zero coupon bonds are one example of these instruments.

The OID accrual rules generally do not apply to short-term obligations (those with a fixed maturity date of 1 year or less from date of issue). See Discount on Short-Term Obligations in chapter 1 of Publication 550.

Cash method.   Most individual taxpayers use the cash method. If you use this method, you generally report your interest income in the year in which you actually or constructively receive it. However, there are special rules for reporting the discount on certain debt instruments. See U.S. Savings Bonds and Original Issue Discount , earlier.

Constructive receipt.   You constructively receive income when it is credited to your account or made available to you. You do not need to have physical possession of it. For example, you are considered to receive interest, dividends, or other earnings on any deposit or account in a bank, savings and loan, or similar financial institution, or interest on life insurance policy dividends left to accumulate, when they are credited to your account and subject to your withdrawal. This is true even if they are not yet entered in your passbook.

  You constructively receive income on the deposit or account even if you must:

Accrual method.   If you use an accrual method, you report your interest income when you earn it, whether or not you have received it. Interest is earned over the term of the debt instrument.

Coupon bonds.   Interest on coupon bonds is taxable in the year the coupon becomes due and payable. It does not matter when you mail the coupon for payment.

Form 1040A.   You must complete Schedule 1 (Form 1040A), Part I, if you file Form 1040A and any of the following are true. List each payer's name and the amount of interest income received from each payer on line 1. If you received a Form 1099-INT or Form 1099-OID from a brokerage firm, list the brokerage firm as the payer.

  You cannot use Form 1040A if you must use Form 1040, as described next.

Form 1040.   You must use Form 1040 instead of Form 1040A or Form 1040EZ if:

Schedule B.   You must complete Schedule B (Form 1040), Part I, if you file Form 1040 and any of the following apply. On Part I, line 1, list each payer's name and the amount received from each. If you received a Form 1099-INT or Form 1099-OID from a brokerage firm, list the brokerage firm as the payer.

Form 1099-INT.   Your taxable interest income, except for interest from U.S. savings bonds and Treasury obligations, is shown in box 1 of Form 1099-INT. Add this amount to any other taxable interest income you received. You must report all of your taxable interest income even if you do not receive a Form 1099-INT.

  If you forfeited interest income because of the early withdrawal of a time deposit, the deductible amount will be shown on Form 1099-INT in box 2. See Penalty on early withdrawal of savings in chapter 1 of Publication 550.

  Box 3 of Form 1099-INT shows the amount of interest income you received from U.S. savings bonds, Treasury bills, Treasury notes, and Treasury bonds. Add the amount shown in box 3 to any other taxable interest income you received, unless part of the amount in box 3 was previously included in interest income. If part of the amount shown in box 3 was previously included in your interest income, see U.S. savings bond interest previously reported , later.

  Box 4 of Form 1099-INT (federal income tax withheld) will contain an amount if you were subject to backup withholding. Report the amount from box 4 on Form 1040EZ, line 7; on Form 1040A, line 38; or on Form 1040, line 62 (federal income tax withheld).

  Box 5 of Form 1099-INT shows investment expenses you may be able to deduct as an itemized deduction. See chapter 3 of Publication 550 for more information about investment expenses.

U.S. savings bond interest previously reported.   If you received a Form 1099-INT for U.S. savings bond interest, the form may show interest you do not have to report. See Form 1099-INT for U.S. savings bonds interest , earlier, under U.S. Savings Bonds.

  On Schedule B (Form 1040), Part I, line 1, or on Schedule 1 (Form 1040A), Part I, line 1, report all the interest shown on your Form 1099-INT. Then follow these steps.

More information.   For more information about how to report interest income, see chapter 1 of Publication 550 or the instructions for the form you must file.