How to Report an Excess Roth IRA Contribution Withdrawal

To report an excess Roth IRA contribution withdrawal, enter the gross distribution from Box 1 of your Form 1099-R on Line 4a of Form 1040 and the taxable earnings from Box 2a on Line 4b. The returned principal isn’t taxed, because Roth contributions come from after-tax dollars; only the earnings portion (the net income attributable to the excess) is ordinary income. Which additional forms you file depends on whether you pulled the money out by the tax filing deadline or after it.

Timely Withdrawal vs. Late Correction

A timely corrective withdrawal is one made by the due date of your return, including extensions. If you filed on time without correcting, IRS Publication 590-A still allows you to withdraw within six months of the original due date (generally October 15 for April filers) and file an amended return.¹ A timely withdrawal has to include the net income attributable (NIA) to the excess; your custodian calculates the figure and reports it on the 1099-R.

Miss that window and the excess stays subject to a 6% excise tax under 26 USC 4973 for each year it remains in the account.² Late corrections use a different form and don’t require pulling the earnings out with the principal.

Reading the 1099-R Your Custodian Sends

Your IRA custodian issues Form 1099-R to report the corrective distribution to you and the IRS. Three fields drive your return:

Box 1 shows the gross distribution: the excess contribution plus (or minus) the NIA.
Box 2a shows only the earnings portion. The returned principal is not taxable.
Box 7 carries two distribution codes. For a Roth corrective distribution, you’ll see Code J paired with either Code 8 or Code P.³

Code 8 means the earnings are taxable in the year the distribution is made. Code P means the earnings are taxable in the prior year, which applies when you contributed in one year, caught the mistake, and withdrew the excess the following year before the filing deadline.³ The code tells you which year’s return the earnings hit.

Your custodian also files Form 5498, which reports all IRA contributions for the year, including excess contributions even after they’ve been corrected. You don’t file 5498 yourself; keep the copy that arrives for your records.

Reporting a Timely Corrective Withdrawal on Form 1040

On Form 1040, put the Box 1 total on Line 4a and the Box 2a taxable earnings on Line 4b. The difference between the two lines represents the returned principal, which passes through untaxed because you already paid income tax on it before contributing.

You do not file Form 8606 for this transaction. The Form 8606 instructions state that contributions returned with their related earnings by the filing deadline should not be reported on Form 8606, and the corrective distribution is also excluded from the Part III calculations for Roth IRA distributions.⁴

The earnings are ordinary income. If you’re under 59½, the 10% early withdrawal penalty does not apply to a timely corrective distribution: Form 5329 lists a specific exception (Exception 21) for earnings withdrawn alongside excess contributions before the filing deadline.⁵ You owe income tax on the earnings but not the extra 10%, provided you hit the deadline.

A short written statement attached to the return helps head off automated IRS notices. A sentence or two giving the date of the original contribution, the date of the corrective withdrawal, and the NIA amount is enough. Nothing in the form instructions requires it, but the context prevents mismatch inquiries when the 1099-R arrives later.

Reporting a Late Correction on Form 5329

Once the deadline (including extensions) passes, the 6% excise tax applies each year until the excess is gone.² You calculate and report the penalty on Form 5329, Part IV, which is specifically for excess Roth IRA contributions.⁶

Key lines on the 2025 Form 5329 Part IV:

Line 18 carries the prior year excess forward from Line 24 of the previous year’s Form 5329. If this is your first year with an excess, skip to Line 23.
Line 20 records distributions from your Roth IRA during the year that reduce the excess balance.
Line 23 records new excess contributions made for the current year.
Line 24 is the remaining excess after withdrawals and adjustments.
Line 25 is the 6% tax, calculated on the smaller of Line 24 or the total value of your Roth IRAs on December 31.⁷

Move the Line 25 figure to Schedule 2 (Form 1040), Line 8, where it’s added to your total tax. File Form 5329 for every year the excess remains: three uncorrected years means three rounds of the 6% penalty. The tax caps at 6% of your total Roth IRA value at year-end, which only matters if the account has shrunk below the excess amount.

One difference from a timely correction: when you withdraw an excess after the deadline, you are not required to pull out the earnings along with the principal. The withdrawal simply reduces the excess balance going forward. Earnings that accrued on the excess stay in the account and aren’t separately accounted for as NIA.

Amending a Return You Already Filed

If your return was already filed and you make the corrective withdrawal within the six-month window, amend using Form 1040-X.⁸ Update Lines 4a and 4b to reflect the corrective distribution. If the 1099-R shows Code P, the amendment goes on the return for the contribution year, not the withdrawal year.

To report a late correction with the 6% excise tax for a prior year, attach that year’s version of Form 5329 to Form 1040-X.⁶ Use Part III of Form 1040-X to explain the change in plain language. Something like “Withdrawing excess 2025 Roth IRA contribution of $X and reporting $Y in related earnings” gives the reviewer what they need. The adjustment to your tax liability flows through the corrected income and any excise tax owed.

Filing and Records

Form 1040 and its schedules can be e-filed through any authorized tax software, which provides electronic confirmation of receipt. Form 1040-X can be e-filed for the current and two prior tax years. If you mail your return, sign and date every form and send it to the IRS service center designated for your state. Keep copies of everything you submit, along with your 1099-R, any Form 5498 received from your custodian, and the custodian’s NIA calculation worksheet.

One timing quirk catches people out. If you contributed for the prior year and withdrew the excess the following year before the deadline, the 1099-R won’t arrive until January of the year after the withdrawal. That means you may need to file or amend before the 1099-R shows up. Use the custodian’s distribution confirmation and NIA statement to complete the forms, then reconcile against the 1099-R when it arrives. If the numbers don’t match, file another amendment.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-A (2025), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4973 – Tax on Excess Contributions to Certain Tax-Favored Accounts and Annuities
3
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498
4
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8606 (2025)
5
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 5329
6
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 5329 (2025)
7
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Form 5329 – Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs)
8
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. December 2025)