Schedule B: Interest and Ordinary Dividends (2025)

Who files this form

Use Schedule B for tax year 2025 if any of these apply:

• You had over $1,500 of taxable interest or ordinary dividends.
• You received interest from a seller-financed mortgage and the buyer used the property as a personal residence.
• You have accrued interest from a bond.
• You are reporting original issue discount (OID) below the amount shown on Form 1099-OID.
• You are reporting interest below the amount shown on a Form 1099 because of amortizable bond premium.
• You are claiming an interest exclusion for series EE or I U.S. savings bonds issued after 1989.
• You received interest or ordinary dividends as a nominee, meaning the income was in your name but belonged to someone else.
• You had a financial interest in, or signature authority over, a foreign financial account, or received a distribution from, were a grantor of, or transferred property to a foreign trust.

Complete Part III if you had over $1,500 of taxable interest or ordinary dividends, had a foreign account, or had one of the listed foreign trust connections.

When it's due

For the 2025 tax year, the instructions give this related foreign trust deadline: Form 3520-A is due March 16, 2026, for a calendar year trust. If you were treated as the owner under the grantor trust rules, you are responsible for ensuring the foreign trust files it.

The supplied text does not state a Schedule B filing deadline. It directs readers to FINCEN.gov for the FinCEN Form 114 due date.

What you'll need

Have these forms and details available, as applicable:

• Your name and Social Security number as shown on your return.
• Forms 1099-INT, 1099-OID, and 1099-DIV, or substitute statements, showing payer names and income amounts.
• For a seller-financed mortgage on the buyer's personal residence, the buyer's name, address, and Social Security number. If either party lacks an SSN, the instructions call for the appropriate taxpayer identification number.
• Form 8815 if you claim the savings bond interest exclusion on line 3. Attach it to your return.
• Details of foreign financial accounts and foreign trust activity for Part III, including the countries where accounts are located if you must file FinCEN Form 114.
• Separate statements if you need more room for payers. Use the same format as lines 1 and 5, include your name and SSN, and show the totals on Schedule B.

How to file

Attach Schedule B to Form 1040 or 1040-SR. The supplied text does not give a mailing address or an e-file procedure for Schedule B.

• Report taxable interest in Part I. Carry line 4 to Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 2b.
• Report ordinary dividends in Part II. Carry line 6 to Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 3b.
• Complete Part III when required.
• Attach any extra payer statements at the end of your return.

Related foreign reporting forms have separate filing directions:

• FinCEN Form 114: If required, file it electronically with Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Do not attach it to your tax return.
• Form 3520: Do not attach it to Form 1040 or 1040-SR. File it at the address shown in its own instructions.

Common mistakes

• Putting tax-exempt interest on line 1. The instructions say not to do this. Tax-exempt interest is reported on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 2a, subject to the adjustments described in the instructions.
• Leaving out seller-financed mortgage details. List this interest first when the buyer used the property as a personal residence. Include the buyer's name, address, and SSN, and give the buyer your SSN. Missing these requirements may result in a $50 penalty.
• Skipping Part III. It is required for the interest, dividend, foreign account, or foreign trust situations stated on the form.
• Answering “No” to the first foreign account question just because no FBAR is required. Answer “Yes” to line 7a, Question 1, if you had the stated foreign financial interest or signature authority during 2025, even if you do not have to file FinCEN Form 114.
• Overlooking separate foreign reporting forms. Failure to file a required FinCEN Form 114 can lead to substantial penalties. Form 8938 may also be required, regardless of whether an FBAR is required.

Questions people ask

Which payer name do I use for a brokerage statement?

Use the brokerage firm's name. For interest, enter the total interest shown on its Form 1099-INT, Form 1099-OID, or substitute statement. For dividends, enter the ordinary dividends shown on its Form 1099-DIV or substitute statement.

Where do I find my ordinary dividends?

They should appear in box 1a of Form 1099-DIV or on a substitute statement. Report them on Schedule B, line 5.

Can I exclude interest from savings bonds?

If you cashed series EE or I U.S. savings bonds issued after 1989 during 2025 and paid qualified higher education expenses for yourself, your spouse, or your dependents, you may be able to exclude some or all of the interest. See Form 8815 for details.

Does an account at a U.S. bank's foreign branch count as a foreign account?

Yes. The instructions use the account's physical location. An account at a U.S. bank branch outside the United States is a foreign financial account. An account at a foreign bank branch physically located in the United States is not.

Official sources

• https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/f1040sb--2025.pdf
• https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/i1040sb--2025.pdf