Free IRS form · Official PDF

Schedule B: Interest and Ordinary Dividends

2025 tax year · Download free — no email, no account

Earned more than $1,500 in interest or dividends this year? Schedule B is where you list each payer. Download the form free — and don't skip Part III, the foreign-account questions with outsized penalties.

Schedule B — Interest and Ordinary Dividends

Free · Official IRS PDF · 2025 tax year · Print-ready
↓  Download Schedule B (PDF) Instructions: irs.gov

What is Schedule B?

Schedule B, Interest and Ordinary Dividends, attaches to Form 1040 whenever taxable interest or ordinary dividends exceed $1,500 (each tested separately). It's an itemized list: every payer and amount from your 1099-INT and 1099-DIV forms, totaled onto your 1040.

Part III is the part people underestimate: it asks whether you had a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign financial accounts. Answering it accurately — and filing the separate FBAR when foreign accounts top $10,000 — carries some of the steepest penalties in the tax code for getting it wrong.

Who files Schedule B?

  • Savers — high-yield savings, CDs, and Treasury interest add up past $1,500 quickly at modern rates.
  • Dividend investors with over $1,500 of ordinary dividends across brokerage accounts.
  • Anyone with foreign accounts — Part III applies even when interest is under $1,500.
  • Recipients of seller-financed mortgage interest and accrued bond interest, which have special lines.

Deadlines

Files with Form 1040 by the April deadline. If Part III applies, the separate FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) is also due in April (auto-extended to October) — it files with FinCEN online, not with your tax return.

How to fill out Schedule B

  1. Collect 1099-INT and 1099-DIV forms

    Banks and brokers must issue them for $10+ of interest or dividends — but you must report interest even when no 1099 arrives.

  2. Part I — list interest by payer

    Each bank or payer on its own line with the amount; subtotal carries to Form 1040.

  3. Part II — list ordinary dividends by payer

    From box 1a of each 1099-DIV. Qualified dividends (box 1b) also go on the 1040 for their lower rate.

  4. Part III — answer the foreign account questions

    Every filer completing Schedule B must answer. "Yes" answers may trigger FBAR and Form 8938 filing.

  5. Carry totals to Form 1040

    Interest and dividend totals flow to the income lines of your return.

Schedule B — frequently asked questions

Not for the listing itself — report the interest directly on Form 1040. But you still need Schedule B if the foreign-account questions apply to you, or for special cases like seller-financed mortgage interest.
Ordinary dividends (box 1a) are taxed as regular income and listed on Schedule B. Qualified dividends (box 1b, a subset) meet holding-period rules and get the lower long-term capital gains rate on your 1040.
Yes. The $10 threshold is for the bank's paperwork, not your taxability — all taxable interest is reportable from the first dollar.
Part III is signed under penalty of perjury with the rest of your return. Willfully failing to report foreign accounts or file a required FBAR carries civil penalties that can reach half the account balance — far worse than the tax itself.

Related IRS forms

Schedule DCapital Gains and LossesForm 1040U.S. Individual Income Tax ReturnSchedule AItemized Deductions

Lending money personally?

Interest you charge on a personal loan is Schedule B income — and the loan itself deserves a real promissory note. BizDocs creates one in minutes.

Create a promissory note
Important: BizDocs is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Internal Revenue Service. The forms offered on this page are official, unmodified IRS documents provided free as a public resource; the IRS publishes them in the public domain at irs.gov. The guides on this page are general information, not tax or legal advice — tax rules change and depend on your situation, so verify details in the official IRS instructions or with a qualified tax professional before filing.