How Do I Know What Kind of IRA I Have: Form 5498 and Statements

To know what kind of IRA you have, check Box 7 on IRS Form 5498 and the account title printed at the top of your statement. Box 7 contains four checkboxes labeling the account as a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP, or SIMPLE, and your custodian files that form with the IRS every year.¹ Between that checkbox and the account registration name, you can identify almost any IRA in a few minutes.

Getting the type right matters because each one follows different tax rules. Treating a Roth like a traditional account on your return, or vice versa, can produce overpaid tax or penalties you didn’t owe. The IRS charges 6% per year on excess contributions left in the wrong account, and missing a required withdrawal from a traditional IRA carries a 25% penalty on the amount not taken, reduced to 10% if you fix it quickly.²

Read Form 5498 First

Form 5498 is the most reliable single document for identifying an IRA. Custodians file it with the IRS by May 31 each year and send you a copy by mail or post it in the tax documents section of your online account. Box 7 tells you the tax classification directly through its checkboxes. The contribution boxes back that up: Box 1 reports traditional IRA contributions, Box 8 reports SEP contributions, Box 9 reports SIMPLE contributions, and Box 10 reports Roth IRA contributions.¹

The form arrives in late May because custodians have to account for prior-year contributions made up through the April tax deadline.³ If you took a distribution during the year, Form 1099-R adds context through the distribution code in its own Box 7. Code 2 or Code 7 indicates a Roth conversion, depending on whether you were under or over 59½, and Code 4 flags a payment to a beneficiary after the account owner’s death.⁴

Check the Account Title on Your Statement

Every quarterly or monthly statement prints the IRA type in the account header or registration name. Look near the top for wording like Traditional IRA, Rollover IRA, Roth IRA, SEP-IRA, or SIMPLE IRA. The same labels appear on the dashboard when you log in to the custodian’s website.

The Activity or Transaction History section gives further evidence. Entries labeled “Employer Contribution” point to a SEP IRA, where the business funds the account directly.⁵ Entries labeled “Salary Deferral” or “Employee Deferral” point to a SIMPLE IRA, where a portion of your paycheck is redirected through payroll. If you only see “Annual Contribution” or “Rollover” with no employer involvement, the account is most likely a personal traditional or Roth IRA.

Traditional and Rollover IRAs

An account labeled “Individual Retirement Account” or plain “IRA” with no further qualifier is a traditional IRA under 26 U.S.C. § 408.⁶ A “Rollover IRA” is a traditional IRA that received funds transferred in from a workplace plan like a 401(k). The tax rules are the same; some people keep rollover money separate to preserve the option of moving it into a future employer’s plan.

Identification here often comes from what you don’t see. If the account name doesn’t say Roth, doesn’t reference an employer plan, and doesn’t include “beneficiary,” it is almost certainly a traditional or rollover IRA. Confirm by checking Form 5498: the “IRA” checkbox marked in Box 7 with contributions in Box 1 or Box 2 means a traditional account.¹

Roth IRAs

A Roth IRA must be explicitly designated as one when it is created, and that designation cannot be changed later.⁷ Every legitimate Roth account carries the word “Roth” in its title on statements, tax forms, and the custodian’s portal. On Form 5498, the Roth IRA box in Box 7 will be checked and contributions appear in Box 10.¹

One point trips people up: a Roth conversion is not a Roth contribution. If you moved money from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA, the conversion shows up on Form 1099-R with distribution Code 2 (under 59½) or Code 7 (59½ or older), and the IRA/SEP/SIMPLE checkbox will also be marked.⁴ The money lands in a Roth even though the 1099-R originated from the traditional side. For 2026, the annual contribution limit across all your traditional and Roth IRAs combined is $7,500, or $8,600 if you’re 50 or older.²

Inherited (Beneficiary) IRAs

An inherited IRA is titled with both the original owner’s name and yours as beneficiary. A typical registration reads something like “Joan Maple IRA, deceased, for benefit of Brian Willow, beneficiary.” Custodians sometimes abbreviate the last part to “bene” or “BDA” (beneficiary distribution account), but some form of that language appears in the account title.⁸ On Form 5498, the custodian is required to show the decedent’s name on the beneficiary’s form and annual statement. Distributions from an inherited IRA carry Code 4 in Box 7 of Form 1099-R.⁴

There is one exception to the naming rule. If a spouse inherits and elects to treat the IRA as their own, the beneficiary designation drops off and the account is retitled in the surviving spouse’s name alone. At that point the account is no longer an inherited IRA. If your statement shows a decedent’s name alongside yours, confirm with the custodian that the account is registered as inherited, because the required distribution timeline is different from a personal IRA and the early withdrawal penalty generally doesn’t apply regardless of your age.

SEP and SIMPLE IRAs

SEP and SIMPLE IRAs are traditional IRAs tied to an employment relationship, and each carries its own contribution structure.

SEP IRAs

A Simplified Employee Pension IRA is funded entirely by the employer. Employees don’t make salary deferrals into it.⁵ The account title usually contains “SEP” or “SEP-IRA,” and Form 5498 will show the SEP checkbox marked in Box 7 with employer contributions in Box 8.¹ Self-employed people often use them because the contribution ceiling is generous: for 2026, up to 25% of compensation or $72,000, whichever is less.⁹ Contribution amounts far above the $7,500 personal IRA limit funded by a business are a strong sign of a SEP.

SIMPLE IRAs

A Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees IRA involves both employee salary deferrals and employer contributions under 26 U.S.C. § 408(p).⁶ Your statement will show entries for both payroll deferrals and employer matching or nonelective contributions. Form 5498 marks the SIMPLE box in Box 7, and employer contributions appear in Box 9.¹

Confirming a SIMPLE matters because of the two-year rule. During the first two years after the employer’s initial contribution hits the account, rolling the money into anything other than another SIMPLE IRA triggers a 25% early distribution penalty instead of the usual 10%.¹⁰ If you don’t know whether that window has closed, ask your custodian for the date of the first employer contribution.

Self-Directed IRAs

A self-directed IRA is still legally a traditional or Roth IRA. The “self-directed” label describes how the account is managed, not a separate tax category. Form 5498 and your statement will still show it as traditional or Roth. The clue is the custodian and the assets held: real estate, private placements, precious metals, crypto, promissory notes, and tax lien certificates are common in self-directed accounts, and the custodian is often a trust company or specialty firm rather than a household-name brokerage.¹¹ Whichever box is checked in Box 7 tells you which set of tax rules governs the account.

Nondeductible Contributions Hidden in a Traditional IRA

The account label alone won’t tell you whether some of the money inside was contributed after tax. If your income was too high to deduct traditional IRA contributions but you contributed anyway, those after-tax dollars create basis in the account, and you shouldn’t be taxed on them again at withdrawal.¹²

IRS Form 8606 tracks that basis. If you or a preparer filed Form 8606 in past years, you have nondeductible contributions sitting in your traditional IRA. The statement still reads “Traditional IRA,” but the tax treatment of future withdrawals and Roth conversions changes. Without those records, you can end up paying tax twice on money you already paid tax on. Check past returns for filed 8606s, or ask your preparer whether nondeductible contributions were ever reported.

When to Call the Custodian

If your paperwork is missing or ambiguous, a phone call to the custodian settles the question. The number is on your statement, and the online portal usually has a secure messaging option. You’ll need to verify identity with your Social Security number and security questions before anyone will discuss the account.

Ask specifically for the tax classification: traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, or inherited. If the account is employer-sponsored, request the Summary Plan Description, which employers are generally required to provide within 90 days of plan participation.¹³ For a SIMPLE, ask for the date of the first employer contribution so you can tell whether the two-year period has passed.

If You’ve Lost Track of the Account Entirely

If you think you have an IRA somewhere but can’t remember the institution, start with your state’s unclaimed property program. When a custodian loses contact with an account holder for long enough, the funds are eventually turned over to the state. MissingMoney.com, managed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, provides a free search across most participating states, and you can also search your state’s unclaimed property office directly.

If the old custodian was a bank that has since merged or been acquired, the FDIC’s BankFind Suite traces merger history to the successor institution, which you can then contact about your IRA.

One boundary is worth flagging. The Department of Labor’s Retirement Savings Lost and Found database at lostandfound.dol.gov covers workplace plans like 401(k)s and pensions sponsored by private-sector employers and unions. It explicitly does not cover Individual Retirement Accounts, so it won’t help locate a lost IRA.¹⁴

1
Internal Revenue Service. Form 5498 – IRA Contribution Information
2
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – IRA Contribution Limits
3
Fidelity. What is Form 5498? IRA Contribution Information
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 (2025)
5
Internal Revenue Service. Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP)
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts
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eCFR. 26 CFR 1.408A-2 – Establishing Roth IRAs
8
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 (2025)
9
Internal Revenue Service. SEP Contribution Limits (Including Grandfathered SARSEPs)
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Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plans FAQs Regarding SIMPLE IRA Plans
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FINRA. Investor Alert – Self-Directed IRAs and the Risk of Fraud
12
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 8606
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Internal Revenue Service. Plan Disclosure Documents – Understanding Your Employer’s Retirement Plan
14
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database