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Tax Forms and Tax Withholding
What you earn from your Treasury marketable securities is subject to federal tax but is exempt from state and local taxes. This includes:
- interest you earn on notes, bonds, TIPS, and FRNs.
- Bill "interest" (the difference between the price you pay and the face value you get when the bill matures)
- inflation-protection gains or losses you may get during the year for a TIPS
IRS Form 1099 tells the IRS about interest and gains that may be subject to federal tax.
TreasuryDirect: Getting your IRS Form 1099
If your securities are in your TreasuryDirect account, your 1099 is available at the beginning of each year.
To see and print your Form 1099 from TreasuryDirect:
- Go to your TreasuryDirect account.
- Choose the ManageDirect tab.
- Under "Manage My Taxes", choose the relevant year.
- Near the top of your "Taxable Transaction Summary", choose the link to view your 1099.
NOTE: Your "Taxable Transaction Summary" is NOT your 1099.
Legacy Treasury Direct: Getting your IRS Form 1099
If you still have securities in Legacy Treasury Direct, we mail you a 1099 at the beginning of each year.
If you need a duplicate 1099-INT form for the current tax year, call 844-284-2676 (free call) or, from outside the United States, +1-304-480-6464.
To request 1099-INT forms for earlier tax years, write to us:
Treasury Retail Securities Services
P.O. Box 9150
Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150
Note: If you no longer have securities in Legacy Treasury Direct, please keep your address current with us until you receive your final tax statement.
Paying taxes early through withholding
If we hold your securities, we can ease your tax burden by withholding taxes for you during the year. Each time we pay interest, we can withhold part of the interest for taxes. The 1099 you get for that year will show what you earned and the amount we withheld for taxes.
We can withhold up to 50 percent of the interest you earn.
To withhold taxes:
- TreasuryDirect: In your TreasuryDirect account, tell us the percent to withhold.
- Legacy Treasury Direct: Call or write to us to tell us the percent to withhold. The phone number and address are in the section above.
What you will see on your IRS Form 1099
You get one 1099 for all your Treasury securities.
The 1099 has different sections for:
- 1099 – INT (Shows interest income you received through the year)
- 1099 – B (Shows the proceeds you got for maturing securities not purchased at original issue)
- 1099 – OID (Only for TIPS: shows any inflation-adjusted increase or decrease in the principal)
Each section is in chronological order and identifies each security by its Confirmation number and CUSIP number. The information in the 1099 – B section is divided into Covered and Non-Covered securities.
If you have notes, bonds, or TIPS with interest due on December 31
If December 31 is an interest pay date for your note, bond, or TIPS and it is a holiday or weekend, we pay the interest and report it being earned on the first business day of the new year.
This doesn't apply to FRNs because they never pay interest in December. They pay in January, April, July, and October.
If you have bills that mature on December 31
If your bill matures and is due to pay on December 31 and it is a holiday or weekend, we pay you on the first business day of the new year. However, we show the payment on your 1099-INT the day the bill matures, not the year it is paid.
If you have TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities)
TIPS earn interest and the value of the principal may go up due to inflation or down due to deflation. The change over the course of a year may be a gain or a loss.
We report the change in principal for all TIPS you own on form 1099-OID.
We report the change each year, even if your TIPS hasn't matured and you haven't been paid.
We're Here to Help
We welcome your questions and comments.
Write Us
If you write to us and want a response, please put your address in your letter (not just on the envelope).
Department of the Treasury
Bureau of the Fiscal Service
Attention: Auctions
3201 Pennsy Drive, Building E
Landover, MD 20785
Call Us
For general inquiries, please call us at 844-284-2676 (toll free)