What Is Form 5498?

Updated on January 17, 2023

Reviewed by

Key Takeaways

Form 5498 is an informational statement that an IRA provider files with the IRS outlining your tax-deductible contributions made to the account that tax year.
IRA contributions are tax-deductible up to certain limits. The IRS uses the information on Form 5498 to substantiate your contributions.
It’s not necessary to file the form with your tax return, but you’ll need the information reported there to calculate how much of a tax deduction you’re entitled to take for your IRA contributions.

How Does Form 5498 Work?

IRS Form 5498 is an informational form that reports not only your IRA contributions to the IRS, but any rollovers you might have made as well.

Form 5498 also reports:

Recharacterizations
Conversions
Year-end fair market values

The form includes both deductible and nondeductible contributions.

Contributions to a Roth IRA don’t qualify for a tax deduction, because distributions from this type of account are tax-free. Even so, they are still reported on Form 5498.

Who Uses Form 5498?

Financial institutions that manage IRAs for clients use Form 5498 to report contributions to the IRS. You will also receive a copy if you made contributions to an IRA during the prior tax year.

Form 5498 can help you determine your tax deduction for qualifying IRA contributions you’ve made, but you’re not necessarily entitled to deduct the entire amount listed for traditional IRA contributions.

The IRS sets contribution limits for IRAs. The limit for tax year 2022 is $6,000 if you’re younger than age 50, or $7,000 if you’re age 50 or older. For tax year 2023, the limits are $6,500 and $7,500, respectively.

Note

IRA contribution limits are subject to change periodically to keep up with inflation.

If you contribute more than the annual limit to your IRA, you'll owe a 6% excise tax on the amount above the annual limit for every year it remains in your account until you withdraw it.

Types of Form 5498

Form	What It's Used For
Form 5498	IRA contributions
Form 5498-ESA	Coverdell ESA plan contributions
Form 5498-SA	Health savings accounts (HSAs)

Form 5498

Form 5498 reports IRA contributions, including those made to SEP-IRAs, Roth IRAs, inherited IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs.

Form 5498-ESA

Form 5498-ESA reports contributions to Coverdell ESA plans, a type of custodial account that's set up to pay for the educational needs of a beneficiary.

Form 5498-SA

Form 5498-SA is for a health savings account (HSA), which allows you to save pre-tax dollars for qualified medical expenses. It's also for Archer medical savings accounts (MSA) and Medicare MSAs

What To Do if You Don’t Receive Form 5498

Reach out to your IRA administrator if you haven't received Form 5498 reporting your contributions.

You have until Tax Day—usually on or around April 15 every year—to make IRA contributions for the prior tax year. Your administrator has until May 31 to issue the form.

Note

If you don't receive Form 5498 on time, make sure that the IRA administrator has your correct address. Also check that you did indeed make IRA contributions in that tax year.

How To Read Form 5498

Different boxes on Form 5498 report contributions to various types of plans and a variety of other information.

If you're trying to read your Form 5498, here's what you can find in each section:

Box 1: Contributions to traditional IRAs you made in the last tax year and through Tax Day of the current year
Boxes 2 and 3: Rollovers and conversions from another plan into an IRA
Box 7: Identifies your plan type
Box 8: Contributions to SEP-IRAs for the year in which they’re received, including employer contributions
Box 9: Contributions to SIMPLE IRAs for the year in which they’re received, including employer contributions
Box 10: Contributions to Roth IRAs you made in the last tax year and through Tax Day of the current year
Box 11: Reports whether you must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs)
Box 15a: Fair market value

Direct trustee-to-trustee transfers made between the same types of plans aren’t typically reported on Form 5498.

Double-check your tax return to make sure you haven’t claimed a deduction for more than what’s reported on Form 5498. Reach out to your plan administrator if you think the figures on the form might be wrong. You can also check with a tax professional to help resolve any issues.

Requirements for Filing Form 5498

Institutions and trustees are normally required to file Form 5498 with the IRS by May 31 of the current tax year. The deadline is Jan. 31 for FMV and RMDs, and April 30 for Form 5498-ESA.

Note

You should specify the year you intend your contributions to count toward at the time you make them.

This information might seem counterintuitive. After all, personal tax returns are traditionally due by April 15, but you usually have until Tax Day to make IRA and other retirement account contributions for the previous tax year that ended on Dec. 31. Your plan administrator needs a little more time to include these contributions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What do you do if you received Form 5498?

You are not required to file Form 5498 with your tax return. It's an information statement that should match up with what you state on your tax return when it comes to your IRA contributions for the tax year. If you receive Form 5498, you can save it in case you ever need to verify what you reported on your tax return.

How do you enter information from Form 5498 on your tax return?

You'll likely receive Form 5498 after Tax Day because it's required to be mailed by May 31, and Tax Day is in April. Because of that, you don't take the info from 5498 and enter it on your tax return. You should already have stated on your tax return how much you contributed to your IRA for the tax year for which you are filing. Form 5498 should match what you reported on your tax return.

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Tell us why!

Sources

The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

IRS. "Roth IRAs."
IRS. "Retirement Topics—IRA Contribution Limits."
IRS. "Instructions for Form 5498-ESA."
IRS. "Instructions for Forms 1099-SA and 5498-SA."
IRS. "General Instructions for Certain Information Returns."
Wealthfront. "What Do I Need To Do for My IRA Contributions (Form 5498) When Filing My Taxes?"