1099-INT box guide
1099-INT Boxes 11-13: Bond premium
Distinguish taxable, Treasury, and tax-exempt bond premium before applying any adjustment.
Return destination
Where the amount goes
Schedule B or tax-exempt interest adjustment workpapers
1099-INT
Return to the complete form guide and reconciliation worksheet.
Checks before filing
- Match each premium amount to the related bond category.
- Do not use Treasury premium against ordinary bank interest.
- Follow the current Schedule B and bond-premium instructions for elections.
How Boxes 11-13 works
Boxes 11, 12, and 13 each report bond premium amortization allocable to interest paid on a covered security acquired at a premium, split by the type of obligation: Box 11 for a taxable bond other than a U.S. Treasury obligation, Box 12 specifically for a U.S. Treasury obligation, and Box 13 for a tax-exempt bond. A payer generally reports an amount in these boxes only when amortization applies and you haven't notified the payer in writing that you don't want to amortize bond premium under section 171 — once a taxpayer makes that election with a given payer, the payer instead reports the gross amount of interest for that bond rather than a separate amortization figure.
When an amount is reported in Box 11 or Box 12, the current Schedule B instructions direct you to work out the net amount of interest includible in income using the same reporting method used for nominee interest, but labeling the subtracted line as an "ABP Adjustment" instead. If the payer has already reported to you a net amount of interest reflecting the premium offset — a smaller figure already built into Box 1 or Box 3 — no further reduction is permitted on Schedule B for that same bond, and subtracting it again would understate income. Box 13 works on the same underlying logic for tax-exempt bonds, but the instructions point to Publication 550 rather than the Schedule B nominee/ABP method to work out the net amount of tax-exempt interest reportable.
An amount in Box 13 that exceeds the interest actually paid on the same tax-exempt covered security produces a nondeductible loss on that bond, not a subtraction against unrelated tax-exempt interest elsewhere. Because the amortization election interacts with whether a payer nets the boxes at all, a blank Box 11, 12, or 13 doesn't necessarily mean no premium exists — it can mean the payer already netted the premium into the interest figure reported elsewhere on the same form, or that the recipient notified the payer of an election not to amortize. Treat each box as tied to its own bond category — taxable, Treasury, or tax-exempt — and don't apply a Box 12 Treasury premium figure against Box 1 ordinary bank interest; the categories carry different reporting mechanics and don't offset each other.
Worked example
A taxpayer holds a corporate bond acquired at a premium; the payer reports Box 1 interest of $400 and Box 11 bond premium amortization of $60 for the year, without having netted the two together. Following the Schedule B "ABP Adjustment" approach, the taxpayer reports the full $400 on the interest-income line, then subtracts the $60 as an ABP Adjustment on the same schedule, arriving at $340 of net interest includible in income.
Related 1099-INT boxes
Box 1: Interest income
Understand taxable bank and investment interest and where it enters the federal return.
Box 2: Early withdrawal penalty
Trace an early withdrawal penalty from Form 1099-INT to the eligible Schedule 1 adjustment.
Box 3: U.S. savings bond and Treasury interest
Separate federally taxable Treasury interest that may receive different state income-tax treatment.
Box 4: Federal income tax withheld
Reconcile backup withholding from interest with the federal withholding claimed on Form 1040.
Frequently asked questions
What does Boxes 11-13 mean on 1099-INT?
Boxes 11 through 13 separate bond premium by the type of obligation. The tax treatment and any election depend on the bond category, so the amounts should not be combined blindly.
Why do I need to do anything with Box 11 if my broker already listed a dollar amount for bond premium?
The payer reporting a bond premium amount doesn't automatically reduce your income — unless the payer has told you it already netted the premium into the interest figure elsewhere on the form, you generally need to apply the Schedule B "ABP Adjustment" subtraction yourself to arrive at the correct net interest.
What is the difference between Box 11 and Box 12 bond premium?
Box 11 covers a taxable covered security other than a U.S. Treasury obligation, while Box 12 is specifically for premium on a U.S. Treasury obligation — the boxes are separated because Treasury and non-Treasury bond premium are tracked and reported through slightly different mechanics.
My Box 13 amount is bigger than the tax-exempt interest I received on that bond — is that a mistake?
Not necessarily. When bond premium amortization in Box 13 exceeds the interest actually paid on that specific tax-exempt covered security, the excess is treated as a nondeductible loss rather than a form error or an offset against other tax-exempt interest.