What a 1099-R Reports
A 1099-R covers distributions from a wide set of accounts and plans. You may get one for money from any of these:
- Profit-sharing or retirement plans
- Individual retirement arrangements (IRAs)
- Pensions and annuities
- Insurance contracts
- Survivor income benefit plans
- Permanent and total disability payments under life insurance contracts
- Charitable gift annuities
Payers generally must send your copy by January 31 of the year after the distribution. You’ll get one even for a move that usually isn’t taxed, like a rollover. A rollover is when you move money from one retirement account to another, as the Form 1099-R instructions explain.
Key Boxes on Form 1099-R
Because the form covers so many situations, a few boxes tell you most of what you need. Start with these.
Boxes to Check First
| Box | What it shows | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gross distribution | The total amount paid out before any tax was taken |
| 2a | Taxable amount (can be blank or zero) | The part that may count as taxable income |
| 4 | Federal income tax withheld | Tax already paid on your behalf |
| 7 (labeled 7a on the 2026 form) | Distribution code(s) | The type of distribution, which affects how it’s taxed |
Box 4 shows your withholding. Withholding is tax the payer takes out of your payment and sends to the IRS for you, so it counts toward what you owe.
Common Box 7a Codes
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | Early distribution, no known exception |
| 2 | Early distribution, exception applies |
| 3 | Disability |
| 4 | Death |
| 7 | Normal distribution |
| G | Direct rollover |
| J | Early Roth IRA distribution |
| L | Loan treated as a distribution |
| Q | Qualified Roth IRA distribution |
| S | Early distribution from a SIMPLE IRA in the first 2 years |
How a 1099-R Affects Your Taxes
The amounts and codes on your form decide how much of the distribution is taxed and whether extra tax applies.
Taxable and Nontaxable Amounts
Pension and annuity payments may be fully or partially taxable. They’re partially taxable if you put in after-tax dollars, meaning money you already paid tax on. Qualified Roth distributions aren’t taxable.
Taxable withdrawals from a traditional IRA are taxed as ordinary income. That means they’re taxed at the same rates as the rest of your income.
When Box 2a Is Blank or Zero
Box 2a doesn’t always give you the final taxable amount.
- A blank box doesn’t mean the money is tax-free. The payer may not have had enough information to figure the taxable amount. If so, the first checkbox in Box 2b (“Taxable amount not determined”) should be checked, and you’re responsible for working out the taxable amount. Your Form 1040 instructions explain how.
- IRA distributions often need your own math. For a traditional IRA, the payer generally isn’t required to figure the taxable amount, so check Box 2a against your Form 1040 instructions. For a Roth IRA, you figure any taxable amount on Form 8606.
- A direct rollover shows zero. That’s expected, and it’s explained next.
How To Report a Rollover
A rollover usually isn’t taxed, but it still has to be reported. The steps depend on how the money moved.
- Direct rollover. If your payer sent the money straight to another plan or IRA, Box 7 shows code G and Box 2a should show zero. Enter the Box 1 amount on the gross line of your Form 1040 and zero on the taxable line.
- Rollover you complete yourself. If the payment came to you and you moved it into another eligible account within 60 days, the rollover isn’t taxable, but you still report it. Your 1099-R shows the full amount paid to you. Report the full amount on the gross line, and on the taxable line report only the part you didn’t roll over. Write “Rollover” next to that line.
- Rollover into a Roth account. Moving pre-tax money into a Roth IRA or a designated Roth account is generally taxable, so a zero in Box 2a wouldn’t apply. See your Form 1040 instructions and Form 8606.
20% Withholding on Rollovers Paid to You
Withholding can also catch you off guard during a rollover. If an employer plan pays an eligible rollover distribution to you instead of moving it directly, 20% federal withholding is mandatory.
If 20% was withheld from a rollover paid to you, you’ll need to add that amount from other funds to roll over the full payment and avoid tax on the withheld portion.
Where the Amounts Go on Form 1040
Once you know the gross and taxable amounts, you copy them onto Form 1040:
- IRA distributions go on lines 4a (gross) and 4b (taxable)
- Pensions and annuities go on lines 5a (gross) and 5b (taxable)
Sources
- IRS, About Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc.
- IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498
- IRS, Topic no. 410, Pensions and annuities
- IRS, Topic no. 558, Additional tax on early distributions from retirement plans other than IRAs
- IRS, Topic no. 413, Rollovers from retirement plans
- IRS, Topic no. 154, Form W-2 and Form 1099-R (what to do if incorrect or not received)
