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New Member
posted May 31, 2019 9:50:56 PM

Can I deduct losses from a traditional IRA?

I have rollover contributions from 2015 and now the FMV is considerably less.  Can I take those losses?

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1 Best answer
New Member
May 31, 2019 9:50:58 PM

No.

Due to the fact that funds in a Traditional IRA are generally deposited before taxes, losses in the account are not deductible unless there have been nondeductible contributions to the account. In most cases, you would only have nondeductible contributions if you made IRA contributions in a year that your income exceeded the limitations that allow a IRA deduction.

If there were nondeductible contributions in the account with losses, you only own a single traditional IRA account, and you liquidate the account, you could deduct up to the amount of your nondeductible contributions if you liquidate the account. However, if there are multiple traditional IRA accounts, you would have to liquidate of those accounts as well before you could take the loss. The rules for deducting losses in Roth or Traditional IRAs is as follows:

  • Losses are limited to the basis in the IRA.

    • For Roth accounts the basis is the total contributions made to the account.

    • For Traditional IRA’s the basis is the total nondeductible contributions made to the account. For most people, the basis is zero.

    • All of the Roth IRA accounts and Traditional IRA accounts are considered a single Roth or Traditional IRA.

  • The entire IRA needs to be liquidated to claim a loss.

    • If there are multiple accounts in the IRA, they all would need to be closed.

  • The loss is only deductible as miscellaneous itemized deduction subject to the greater than 2% of adjusted gross income limit.

1 Replies
New Member
May 31, 2019 9:50:58 PM

No.

Due to the fact that funds in a Traditional IRA are generally deposited before taxes, losses in the account are not deductible unless there have been nondeductible contributions to the account. In most cases, you would only have nondeductible contributions if you made IRA contributions in a year that your income exceeded the limitations that allow a IRA deduction.

If there were nondeductible contributions in the account with losses, you only own a single traditional IRA account, and you liquidate the account, you could deduct up to the amount of your nondeductible contributions if you liquidate the account. However, if there are multiple traditional IRA accounts, you would have to liquidate of those accounts as well before you could take the loss. The rules for deducting losses in Roth or Traditional IRAs is as follows:

  • Losses are limited to the basis in the IRA.

    • For Roth accounts the basis is the total contributions made to the account.

    • For Traditional IRA’s the basis is the total nondeductible contributions made to the account. For most people, the basis is zero.

    • All of the Roth IRA accounts and Traditional IRA accounts are considered a single Roth or Traditional IRA.

  • The entire IRA needs to be liquidated to claim a loss.

    • If there are multiple accounts in the IRA, they all would need to be closed.

  • The loss is only deductible as miscellaneous itemized deduction subject to the greater than 2% of adjusted gross income limit.