Missing a Bank 1099? Here's a Possible Reason

The income filing requirements for Form 1099-INT and 1099-DIV states that it has to be sent to the IRS when the amounts exceed $10.  Any amounts below that is optional.  I received just a few dollars of interest and dividends each on the 1099 statements that I recieved from my brokerage account.  So getting one for less than $10 depends on the company.

One thing to note about this missing form.  ING Direct, for some reason, made my savings account an all electronic access account (even though I DID NOT sign for it).  The 1099 that they placed on the website can ONLY be seen by the PRIMARY OWNER of the account.  The joint coowner never has access to this form when they login.  So, if the primary owner forgets to sign on and look up the form, it can be overlooked when you file your return.  I had to file an emended return one year when I forgot about the ING Direct account (I was a joint coowner).

My Vanguard brokerage statement failed to list any interest, i.e., the existence of my Prime Money Market Account (contrast to previous years).  So I called them up.  Indeed, he explained the interest earned was only about $5.00 due to the extremely low dividend rates throughout most the year.  Printing out end of year online statements helps in these cases.