Do i need to file two separate form 8606, one for me, one for spouse?

[jwoelz]

I have been taking money out of my IRA, but my wife as not.  We both made after-tax contributions.  How are we supposed to handle form 8606.  She was not old enough to qualify for distributions until this year, but did not take any distributions yet.

[MinhT1]

You need to file an IRS Form 8606 for every year you contribute after-tax amounts (non-deductible IRA contribution) to your traditional IRA, and every year you receive a distribution from your IRA as long as you have after-tax amounts, including after-tax rollover amounts from traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA plans.

Each spouse has to file a separate form 8606. So you have to file a form 8606 for yourself as you took distributions from your IRA. If your spouse did not make nondeductible contributions in 2022 and did not receive a distribution in 2022, she is not required to file form 8606.

[dmertz]

Form 8606 for a particular individual is not to be included in the tax return if the individual made no new nondeductible traditional IRA contribution for the year and made no distributions from a traditional IRA during the year.

[Opus 17]

IRAs are owned individually, so each spouse needs a separate form 8606.  Form 8606 is required if you make new non-deductible contributions to an IRA, or if you withdraw money from an IRA and your IRAs contain non-deductible contributions.  (This is true if you have any IRA account with nondeductible contributions; for tax purposes, you only have one IRA even if you hold accounts with different custodians.)

Your spouse will not have form 8606 for 2022 if they did not make nondeductible contributions this year or made a withdrawal this year.   However, whenever your spouse does start to make withdrawals, they will need their most recent form 8606 from whenever they last made nondeductible contributions.  Without that form, they may be unable to prove they have a partial basis, and all the IRA withdrawal will be taxable.  Make sure that you and your spouse save all your form 8606s as long as you own any IRA.  This is one exception to the general rule that you can discard tax papers after 3 or 7 years. 

[jwoelz]

Thanks everyone.  This info is important to know and not really clear in any of the IRS or other documentation.  I have also asked multiple "tax professionals" who could not answer!

[dmertz]

The Instructions for Form 8606 provide a list of circumstances for which you are to file Form 8606.  Absent a circumstance on that list, there is no reason to file this form.