How to report US Savings Bond Series EE interest, without 1099INT Form. Issued 9/1986 and 10/1986. Matured 9/2016 and 10/2016. Not redeemed.

[HelenaC · Accepted solution]

You have a choice on when you report your bond interest. You can:

• report the interest every year or
• put off (defer) reporting the interest until you file a federal income tax return for the year in which the first of these events occurs:
• you redeem (cash in) the bond and receive what the bond is worth, including the interest, or
• you give up ownership of the bond and the bond is reissued, or
• the bonds stops earning interest because it has reached final maturity.

To report Bond interest, without form 1099-INT, enter it as if you had a 1099-INT form.

• Log on and continue your return then
• Press the TurboTax "Search" button near the top right of your screen
• Type "1099-int" into the TurboTax search box
• Select "Jump to 1099-int" from the dropdown list of results
• If you reach the "Here's the interest we have so far" screen, click "Add interest income"
• On the "Let Us Enter Your 1099-INT" screen, scroll down and press "I'll type it in myself"
• On the "Let's get the details from your 1099-INT or brokerage statement" screen, be sure to check the checkbox for "My form has info in more than just box 1 (this is uncommon)" See the screenshot below.
• You can now add Box 3 interest from your savings bonds.
• Continue along with answering the questions in the following screens and pressing "Continue"
• If you reach the "Did you cash any Series EE or I U.S. savings bonds?" screen, press "Yes" if you did
• On the "Did you use your U.S. savings bonds to pay for higher education expenses?" screen, press "Yes" if you used your savings bonds for educational costs
• If you qualify, TurboTax will help you to record your exclusion of savings bond interest for Form 8815 on a series of screens

Additional information: Series EE/E Savings Bonds Tax Considerations https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ebonds/res_e_bonds_eetaxconsider.htm

[keerks]

So I put the savings bond interest amount in ONLY box 3. NOT box 1 also. Is this correct?

[HelenaC]

Yes, only in box 3. Box 1 is for savings/checking/Money Market interest.

[keerks]

Thank you so much! You are awesome! Great help!

[HelenaC]

Thank you for using TurboTax. We really appreciate it.

[keerks]

One more question.  I did cash them this week. So  when it asked the question if I cashed the bonds, I said no. Because I didn't cash them in 2016. Or do I need to say yes?

[HelenaC]

For 2016, say no, you did not cash them in.

[keerks]

Thank you very much! You and Turbotax are awesome! We've used them many years and will continue!

[marlenastahlbrop]

You do not claim the interest on your bonds until you cash in the bond.  When you do, the government will send you a 1099.

[keerks]

But the bonds reached final maturity 2016.

[concannon-21]

You have to redeem them before you need to claim the interest. You can wait for years if you wish. When you do redeem them the Treasury will send you a 1099-Int.

[pinkyt01]

ACCORDING TO TREASURYDIRECT.GOV:
You have a choice. You can

 1-  report the interest every year
 2-   put off (defer) reporting the interest until you file a federal income tax return for the year in which the FIRST of these events occurs:
        you redeem (cash in) the bond and receive what the bond is worth, including the interest, or
        you give up ownership of the bond and the bond is reissued, or
        the bonds stops earning interest because it has reached final maturity

...so on above question, this means interest should've been reported for tax year 2016 at maturity (which is the earlier of the 2 events), NOT when they were redeemed later.

[keerks]

We marked 1099-int box and entered the int amt manually for 2016 taxes, since we didn't receive the 1099-int form. For 2017 taxes, we deducted that amt from the 2017-int form, since we already claimed in 2016. Thanks!

[Web2507]

When I follow these instructions for my none 2099-int on savings bond and place in box 3, I receive an error message when I do my federal check saying I did not enter anything in box 1. That something must be entered there.  So, once again, how do I enter interest from cashed savings bonds without a 1099?  All info please.. every box that should be entered tell me