@User030620 wrote:
Thanks! For looking at tax transcripts - is the correct one to look at "Wage and Income"? I do see my contributions under "IRA Contributions", though I don't see whether these were marked as deductible or nondeductible. It looks like I also made a 2020 contribution, but I only have the transcript for that and not the tax return. Regardless, it seems like that wasn't tracked in From 8606 either. Do I confirm that this was a nondeductible contribution by checking whether my MAGI for that year was over the deductible limit, or is there a way to see that in the transcript?
You should be looking at your tax return transcripts. For example, in 2021, the IRA deduction was on schedule 1, line 20. The total of adjustments on schedule 1 is reported on schedule 1 line 26, which carries over to form 1040 line 10. If you deducted the contributions, that would be reflected on schedule 1 and form 1040 line 10. You might also have other adjustments on schedule 1, so you need to consider your return as a whole. If you have a printout, compare the printout with the transcript. For other years, the line numbers may be different but deductible IRA contributions are still on schedule 1, if you need to know the exact location, you can download PDFs of specific forms for specific years from the IRS web site.
Your tax return transcript should also include a record of form 8606 if you filed one.
The wage and income transcript is probably only picking up form 5498 from the IRA trustee. They know what you contributed but they don't know if you deducted it or not, that would only be on your tax return. If you have no IRA deduction on schedule 1 and no form 8606 either, then you didn't report it properly. You can either file an amended return to make it deductible (depending on income and other facts) or file an amended form 8606 to make it non-deductible. Since form 8606 has a separate signature line, I believe you can file the amended 8606 by itself as long as it does not change your tax.
