Form 5498: For retirement account contributions

Contributing to your IRA means you’re putting savings toward your retirement. It also is one of several reasons why you may receive Form 5498—an IRA contribution tax form. Getting Form 5498 after tax day may seem behind schedule, but there’s good reason for it.

Read on to learn the answers to “what is form 5498?”, the purpose it serves, and what to do with the form.

What is Form 5498?

The 5498 tax form reports IRA contributions, like Roth and traditional IRAs, Simplified Employee Pension (SEP), Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE), and deemed IRAs.

Form 5498 reports the type of account you hold to the IRS as well as financial information about your IRA:

• Contributions
• Conversions 
• Rollovers
• Required minimum distributions
• Transfers

It’s an informational return, which means it doesn’t need to be filed by you, the individual taxpayer. You should keep the 5498 tax form for your records.

When do you get Tax Form 5498? 

The issuer—retirement brokerages or banks—must file Form 5498 to the IRS by May 31 each year—and you will receive a copy of the form. The deadline to file the form is later than most informational forms. This is because your retirement contributions are due for the previous tax year on the tax return due date, tax deadline, which typically falls on April 15—so the IRS gives the issuers extra time until May 31 to file the form. For the 2020 tax year, and due to the pandemic, the IRS has moved the tax return due date and IRA contribution deadline to May 17, 2021. Consequently, the due date for filing Form 5498 is June 30, 2021.

Please note, the tax return extension for 2020 tax returns in 2021 doesn’t grant you an extension to contribute to an IRA.

If you have multiple retirement accounts, you will likely get more than one Form 5498.

What to do with Form 5498?

Once you obtain Tax Form 5498, keep it for your records. While you don’t need to file the form, you should use it to cross-check against contributions claimed on your tax return to make sure they coincide with your retirement account issuers’. If there’s a mismatch in numbers, the IRS may take notice. In this case, you could accrue interest and a potential tax penalty. If it’s an error on the side of the retirement account issuer, contact them.

Form 5498 for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)

You need to make a Required Minimum Distribution from the account each year if you reached age 72 (70½ if you reached 70½ prior to January 1, 2020).

You may also be required to take RMDs if you inherited an IRA. Spouses who inherit a deceased family members’ retirement account and don’t elect to roll it into another pre-existing retirement account also need to take RMDs.

RMDs are based on your age and your account’s fair market value on Dec. 31 for the tax year before the RMD, according to the IRS. The following areas on Form 5498 will report RMD information:

• Box 5 reports the account’s fair market value
• Box 11 shows whether or not an RMD is required for the next tax year

The 5498 tax form also reports the amount of RMD that should be taken. Want more details on RMDs? Check out our post on Required Minimum Distributions.

More help with the 5498 tax statement

If you received a 5498 tax statement and have questions, we can help. Whether getting tax guidance in person or virtually, learn about ways to file with H&R Block.