Interest Income – why ask who it belongs to?

[Yepper22]

In the section for reporting Interest Income, TurboTax asks who the interest “belongs” to.  I’m assuming TurboTax wants to know who are the legal owners of the account from which the interest income was generated. 

How does this information affect my income tax calculation if I file a joint return?  If it doesn’t impact a joint filer, in what situation does the information matter?

Thanks.

[VictoriaD75]

If you are filing jointly, the ownership does not affect your return or income tax calculation. 

There are some states that are considered Community Property states. In that case, the ownership is necessary for allocating community property income. 

Ownership will be denoted on the 1099-INT.

[Yepper22]

Thanks, Victoria.  It sounds like the ownership info matters for those couples filing separate returns.