Thank you for the explanation. You were very thorough and this helped me answer part of my question I was searching for on the interwebs.
So I have a client that has a 1099-R that says "unknown" in box 2a. There is an amount in box 5 AND an amount in box 9b. My question is this: if I want to calculate the taxable amount do I start with box 1. (Gross Dist.) and subtract box 5 and box 9b?? Thanks for your help.
