Where Do You Put Form 5498 on Your Taxes? Boxes, Rollovers, and 8606

Form 5498 does not get entered anywhere on your tax return. Your IRA custodian files it with the IRS and sends you a copy as a record of what went into your IRA for the year. The numbers on it feed specific lines and forms depending on the activity: a deductible Traditional IRA contribution lands on Schedule 1, non-deductible contributions get tracked on Form 8606, Roth contributions don’t appear on your return at all, and Roth conversions move through Form 8606 to Form 1040. Knowing where to put Form 5498 on your taxes really means knowing which box drives which form.

Why the Form Shows Up After You File

Because you can make IRA contributions for the prior tax year all the way through April 15, custodians have until May 31 to issue Form 5498.¹ You will almost always file before it arrives. File using your own contribution records, then check the 5498 against what you reported when it shows up. If the numbers don’t match, you may need to amend.

The form reports your contributions, rollovers, Roth conversions, and the fair market value of the account at year end.² It’s a confirmation document, not a return input.

Traditional IRA Contributions: Box 1

Box 1 shows the total you contributed to a Traditional IRA for the tax year.² Whether any of it reduces your taxable income depends on your modified adjusted gross income and whether you or your spouse is covered by a workplace retirement plan.

If neither of you is covered by a workplace plan, the full contribution is deductible up to the annual limit. Report the deductible amount on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), Line 20, labeled “IRA deduction.”³ That number flows into your adjusted gross income on the main Form 1040.

If you or your spouse is covered by a workplace plan, the deduction phases out above certain MAGI thresholds and disappears entirely at the top of the range. For 2026, single filers covered by a workplace plan phase out between $81,000 and $91,000; married couples filing jointly phase out between $129,000 and $149,000; and the more generous range for a non-covered spouse of a covered worker runs from $242,000 to $252,000.⁴ Within the phase-out, use the worksheet in the Form 1040 instructions or Publication 590-A to figure the partial deduction.

Non-Deductible Contributions Go on Form 8606

If your income rules out the deduction, you can still contribute, but the contribution won’t lower this year’s tax. What it creates is basis in your IRA: after-tax dollars that should not be taxed again on the way out.

Tracking that basis is your job. Enter the non-deductible amount on Line 1 of Form 8606 (Nondeductible IRAs), and the form keeps a running total of your after-tax dollars across all your Traditional IRAs.⁵ File it every year you make a non-deductible contribution, even if you took no distributions.

Skipping Form 8606 is expensive. Without it, the IRS treats your entire IRA balance as pre-tax money and taxes every dollar you withdraw in retirement, including the dollars you already paid tax on. The IRS charges a $50 penalty for failing to file when required, and the burden of proving basis sits entirely with you.⁶

Roth IRA Contributions: Box 10 Goes Nowhere

Box 10 shows your Roth IRA contributions.² Roth contributions are made with after-tax dollars and are never deductible, so the Box 10 figure does not appear on Form 1040, Schedule 1, or any other form. It exists so the IRS can monitor whether you stayed within contribution limits and whether your income allowed a direct Roth contribution in the first place.

Direct Roth eligibility phases out above its own MAGI thresholds, which for 2026 run from $153,000 to $168,000 for single filers and $242,000 to $252,000 for married couples filing jointly. Married individuals filing separately who lived with their spouse at any point during the year face a $0 to $10,000 range.⁴

Rollovers and Conversions

Form 5498 reports rollovers and conversions in separate boxes, and the tax treatment is different for each.

Box 2 shows rollover contributions: money moved from one IRA to another or from a workplace plan into an IRA.¹ A qualified rollover is not a taxable event. You generally don’t enter anything on your return beyond what appears on the Form 1099-R from the sending custodian. Box 2 is simply the receiving custodian’s confirmation that the money arrived.

Box 3 shows the amount you converted from a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA during the year.¹ A conversion is taxable because you’re moving pre-tax money into an account where it will eventually come out tax-free. The sending custodian issues a 1099-R; you use Form 8606, Part II to figure what portion is taxable.

On Form 8606, Line 16 captures the net amount converted, and the form walks through the math separating your non-deductible basis from the pre-tax portion. Line 18 gives you the taxable amount.⁵ That taxable amount goes on Form 1040, Line 4b. The gross conversion amount goes on Line 4a.

One trap worth flagging: if you have any pre-tax money in any Traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA, the IRS treats all of those balances as a single pool under the pro rata rule. You cannot convert only your non-deductible basis and leave the pre-tax dollars behind. Form 8606 performs the calculation using your year-end IRA balances, not the balance on the date of the conversion.

SEP and SIMPLE Contributions

If you participate in a SEP or SIMPLE IRA, your Form 5498 may show amounts in Box 8 (SEP contributions) or Box 9 (SIMPLE contributions).² These don’t ride the standard IRA deduction line.

Employer SEP contributions are deducted on the business’s return, not your Form 1040. If you’re self-employed, your SEP deduction goes on Schedule 1, Line 16. SIMPLE IRA salary deferrals are excluded from your wages on your W-2 before you see them, so there’s nothing separate to deduct on your personal return. Boxes 8 and 9 confirm what was contributed; the deduction mechanics happen through payroll or the business return.

Excess Contributions: Form 5329

If the amount in Box 1 or Box 10 exceeds the annual limit, you have an excess contribution. The IRS imposes a 6% excise tax on the excess for every year it stays in the account, and that 6% keeps applying until you fix it.⁷

You have two ways out. You can withdraw the excess plus any earnings it generated before the due date of your return, including extensions; the earnings portion is taxable in the year the contribution was made.⁸ Or you can apply the excess toward the next year’s contribution limit, though the 6% still applies for the original year.

If you owe the excise tax, report it on Form 5329. Traditional IRA excess contributions go in Part III and Roth excess contributions go in Part IV. The resulting tax flows to Schedule 2 (Form 1040), Line 8.⁹

Saver’s Credit: Form 8880

Lower- and moderate-income taxpayers who contributed to an IRA may qualify for the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit, usually called the Saver’s Credit. To claim it, use Form 8880 and enter your IRA contributions (both Traditional and Roth, but not rollovers) on Line 1.¹⁰ The contribution figure comes from Box 1 or Box 10 of your Form 5498. For 2026, the income ceilings are $80,500 for married filing jointly, $60,375 for heads of household, and $40,250 for single filers.⁴ You can’t claim the credit if you were born after January 1, 2008, are claimed as a dependent, or were a full-time student.

Fair Market Value and RMD Boxes

Several boxes on Form 5498 exist purely for record-keeping and don’t trigger an entry on this year’s return.

Box 5 shows the fair market value of everything in your IRA as of December 31.² You won’t enter it anywhere on your tax forms, but keep it: it’s the starting point for calculating next year’s Required Minimum Distribution once you reach the required age.

Box 11 is a checkbox indicating whether you’re required to take an RMD for the following year, and Boxes 12a and 12b show the deadline and the actual RMD amount due.² The form itself warns that an RMD may be required even when Box 11 is not checked, so verify independently if you’re near or past RMD age.

Boxes 15a and 15b appear if your IRA holds alternative assets like real estate, private company stock, or partnership interests. The custodian uses letter codes (A through H) to flag these hard-to-value holdings for the IRS.¹¹ They don’t affect your return, but when they appear, make sure the fair market value in Box 5 reflects a reasonable independent valuation. The IRS watches these accounts closely.

Keep the form with your tax records. You’ll need it for future RMD calculations and to document your IRA basis if the IRS ever asks.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498
2
Internal Revenue Service. Form 5498 – IRA Contribution Information
3
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1040
4
Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
5
Internal Revenue Service. Form 8606 – Nondeductible IRAs
6
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8606
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 4973 – Tax on Excess Contributions to Certain Tax-Favored Accounts and Annuities
8
Internal Revenue Service. IRA Year-End Reminders
9
Internal Revenue Service. Form 5329 – Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts
10
Internal Revenue Service. Form 8880 – Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions
11
Internal Revenue Service. Form 5498 – Asset Information Reporting Codes and Common Errors