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Fixing excess Roth contributions from prior years

So my wife's investment guy made a $7K Roth contribution for her 2019 and 2020. Problem is she had no earned income those years. He realized and took all 14k out (plus ~4k in earnings) in May 2021.

We're doing 2021 taxes and have two 2021 1099-R's showing both distributions.

2020 one shows whole distribution with earnings, but only the earnings in box 2 taxable. Box 7 code = PJ (excess roth distribution AND Early roth distribution?).

2019 one shows whole distribution with earnings, but taxable amount blank and Box 7 = J (early distribution?)

How do we fix this?

Am i right in that we have to amend 2019 and pay 6% on the 7k (not earnings or early distribution?)

Also amend 2020 and pay 6% on 7k (or did we get it out in time by May 2021?)

Then file for 2021 with 6% fee on 7k for 2019 AND 2020? (or just 2019?)

Seems like her earning are all captured with her other earnings for 2021 1099B's etc so penalty just on the base 7k's?

Also, are J penalties for early withdrawal N/A since we took it back out and will be paying the 6% penalties?

Any help appreciated!

PJC

 

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Accepted Solutions

Fixing excess Roth contributions from prior years

@HarleyandJen 

By the way, if you have a "tax guy" who made a mistake, they should fix it for free.

 

So let me walk you through this in order.  

 

2019

You have an excess contribution of $7000.  You need to file an amended return, BUT you can file form 5329 alone, you don't need to file an entire amended return.  You can do this yourself, it does not need to be down in Turbotax.  Here is the 2019 form and instructions.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/f5329--2019.pdf

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/i5329--2019.pdf

 

Make sure your wife signs the form (since it was her single return), and check the "amended" box at the top right.  The excess contribution is reported in part IV (part 4) and she will owe $420 as a penalty.  She can mail a check with the form, or she can make a payment online at www.irs.gov/payments. Be sure she selects "2019" as the reason for the payment.  The IRS will probably send a bill later for interest and late fees.  She can apply for a waiver of the penalty here, but the interest can't be waived.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/penalty-relief-due-to-first-time-penal...

 

2020

You need to file a full amended return for 2020, probably using Turbotax.  You can complete a "withdrawal of excess contributions" even though you did not have an extension, by writing "Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2” at the top of your amended tax return.  Here are the Turbotax instructions for amending.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/amending/help/how-do-i-amend-my-return/00/27439

 

When working on your amended 2020 return, you need to tell the program that your wife had a 2019 Roth excess contribution of $7000.  You also need to report the 2020 Roth contribution and the withdrawal of $14,000 excess.   This should result in having a form 5329 part 4 that shows you started the year with a $7000 excess balance but ended the year with no excess, so no more 6% penalty.  

 

You will also report the $4000 of earnings as 2020 income due to withdrawal of an excess contribution, but you do not report the withdrawal of the $14,000 of contributions.  (This is a tricky point--because the withdrawals occurred in 2021, the withdrawals should be 2021 income, but because part of the withdrawal was earnings from excess, that counts as 2020 income even though it occurred in 2021.)  The $4000 earnings will be subject to income tax plus a 10% penalty in part 1 of form 5329.  The regular income tax owed on the earnings will be calculated on the main tax form.

 

The amended return is a new form 1040, plus any other forms that changed, plus a 1040-X cover page.  Print all the required pages, sign them, write "Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2” at the top of page one, and mail it all in.  You can include a check, or make an online payment of the amount owed, be sure to select "2020" as the reason.   You may get a bill for interest and late fees.

 

2021

For your 2021 return, report the 1099-Rs.  The 1099-R for $7000 should be non-taxable since it only includes contributions and withdrawals of contributions are never taxable.  The 1099-R for $11,000 will be non-taxable, since $7000 was contributions and the other $4000 was already taxed on your 2020 return.    So there should be no tax or penalties related to this situation.  

 

The part I have not personally practiced is what exactly you will tell Turbotax on your 2021 return so it knows that the earnings included in the 1099-R were already taxed in 2020.  If you can't figure it out, there are lots of people here who can walk you through that section of the program. 

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10 Replies

Fixing excess Roth contributions from prior years

He withdrew the 14K and earnings on 18 and 19 May 2021 by the way...

Thanx

dmertz
Level 15

Fixing excess Roth contributions from prior years

Amend 2019 to report the excess $7,000 contribution and pay the 6% penalty on $7,000.

 

Amend 2020 to report the excess $7,000 contribution carried in from 2019 and pay the 6% penalty again on the 2019 excess contribution (not on the 2020 excess contribution).  Also report on the amended 2020 tax return the earnings on the code PJ 2021 Form 1099-R.  These earnings are subject to ordinary income tax and a 10% early-distribution penalty.

 

On the 2021 tax return report the code J 2021 Form 1099-R.  The $7,000 contribution basis from the excess 2019 contribution (plus any other contribution or conversion basis) will be subtracted to determine the amount that is subject to tax and early-distribution penalty.

Fixing excess Roth contributions from prior years

@dmertz 

@HarleyandJen 

Wait a second, let's back up and clarify something.

For 2019 and 2020, did you file a joint return, and did YOU have compensation from working?  If you had compensation from working (a job or self-employment) then your spouse can make a spousal IRA contribution from your earned income even if she did not have her own earned income.  It would not have been necessary to withdraw the excess, and the way you handle it now will be different (the withdrawal is a done deal, but the tax consequences are different). 

 

If neither you nor your wife had compensation from working, then @dmertz is correct as to your next steps.

 

HOWEVER, I believe you can just file a form 5329 for 2019 and 2020, reporting the excess and paying the penalty, without actually having to file a full amended return.  Is that not the case?

Fixing excess Roth contributions from prior years

We were married in 2020.

For 2019 she filed single and had no earned income. This was the first 7k contribution.

That 1099R has J code and taxable amount blank.

For 2020 we filed married filing jointly. She had no earned income. I had too much earned income to contribute to a Roth IRA. (~$265k) This was the second 7k contribution her guy did.

That 1099R has PJ code and taxable amount just the earnings.

Now we are trying to file jointly for 2021 and fix the whole thing.

Appreciate the help?!

 

Fixing excess Roth contributions from prior years

@HarleyandJen 

Your wife did make an excess contribution for 2019.  And amended 2019 return is required to pay the 6% penalty.

 

She did not make an excess contribution for 2020, because she was allowed to use your income to support her contribution even though you were over the income limit.  However, an amended return for 2020 is still required because the excess from 2019 was still in the Roth IRA.  (But the excess amount that you report in 2020 was $7000, not $12,000.)

 

It was only necessary to have removed the $7000 from 2019, not the earnings and not the amount for 2020.  However, since you have removed the entire amount, the withdrawal of contributions is nontaxable and the withdrawal of earnings are subject to income tax plus the 10% penalty, unless your spouse is over the age 59-1/2.  

I believe the earnings are taxable on your 2021 return, I don’t understand why @dmertz  tells you to report them in 2020.  The deadline to request a “withdrawal of excess contributions plus earnings“ is the April 15 tax deadline, unless you had an extension in 2020, which would have extended the withdrawal deadline to October 15.  Did you have an extension?

 

If you did not have an extension, then you simply report the 1099-Rs on your 2021 tax return. The withdrawal of the original $14,000 of contributions is nontaxable and the earnings are taxable unless your spouse is age 59 1/2 or older.  You do need to file amended tax returns for 2019 and 2020, but her 2020 contribution was not excess, the 2020 form 5329 only has to account for the 2019 excess that remained in the account.

 

 

Fixing excess Roth contributions from prior years

OK thanx

Amending 2020, Why no 6% penalty on 2020's 7k excess contribution (in addition to 6% again on 2019's carried in)?

Is it because we withdrew it quickly enough ~19 May 2021?

Fixing excess Roth contributions from prior years

Ok thanx!

No we did not have an extension.

Although we might ask for one for 2021!! 🙂

Appreciate help

Fixing excess Roth contributions from prior years

@HarleyandJen 

By the way, if you have a "tax guy" who made a mistake, they should fix it for free.

 

So let me walk you through this in order.  

 

2019

You have an excess contribution of $7000.  You need to file an amended return, BUT you can file form 5329 alone, you don't need to file an entire amended return.  You can do this yourself, it does not need to be down in Turbotax.  Here is the 2019 form and instructions.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/f5329--2019.pdf

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/i5329--2019.pdf

 

Make sure your wife signs the form (since it was her single return), and check the "amended" box at the top right.  The excess contribution is reported in part IV (part 4) and she will owe $420 as a penalty.  She can mail a check with the form, or she can make a payment online at www.irs.gov/payments. Be sure she selects "2019" as the reason for the payment.  The IRS will probably send a bill later for interest and late fees.  She can apply for a waiver of the penalty here, but the interest can't be waived.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/penalty-relief-due-to-first-time-penal...

 

2020

You need to file a full amended return for 2020, probably using Turbotax.  You can complete a "withdrawal of excess contributions" even though you did not have an extension, by writing "Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2” at the top of your amended tax return.  Here are the Turbotax instructions for amending.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/amending/help/how-do-i-amend-my-return/00/27439

 

When working on your amended 2020 return, you need to tell the program that your wife had a 2019 Roth excess contribution of $7000.  You also need to report the 2020 Roth contribution and the withdrawal of $14,000 excess.   This should result in having a form 5329 part 4 that shows you started the year with a $7000 excess balance but ended the year with no excess, so no more 6% penalty.  

 

You will also report the $4000 of earnings as 2020 income due to withdrawal of an excess contribution, but you do not report the withdrawal of the $14,000 of contributions.  (This is a tricky point--because the withdrawals occurred in 2021, the withdrawals should be 2021 income, but because part of the withdrawal was earnings from excess, that counts as 2020 income even though it occurred in 2021.)  The $4000 earnings will be subject to income tax plus a 10% penalty in part 1 of form 5329.  The regular income tax owed on the earnings will be calculated on the main tax form.

 

The amended return is a new form 1040, plus any other forms that changed, plus a 1040-X cover page.  Print all the required pages, sign them, write "Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2” at the top of page one, and mail it all in.  You can include a check, or make an online payment of the amount owed, be sure to select "2020" as the reason.   You may get a bill for interest and late fees.

 

2021

For your 2021 return, report the 1099-Rs.  The 1099-R for $7000 should be non-taxable since it only includes contributions and withdrawals of contributions are never taxable.  The 1099-R for $11,000 will be non-taxable, since $7000 was contributions and the other $4000 was already taxed on your 2020 return.    So there should be no tax or penalties related to this situation.  

 

The part I have not personally practiced is what exactly you will tell Turbotax on your 2021 return so it knows that the earnings included in the 1099-R were already taxed in 2020.  If you can't figure it out, there are lots of people here who can walk you through that section of the program. 

dmertz
Level 15

Fixing excess Roth contributions from prior years

@Opus 17 , you misread my reply.  The earnings that I said are taxable on the 2020 tax return are those reported in box 2a of the code PJ 2021 Form 1099-R, not the earnings unnecessarily distributed with the distribution of the 2019 excess.  I said that the earnings distributed that were attributable to the 2019 excess are taxable on the 2021 tax return.

Fixing excess Roth contributions from prior years

Thank you Sir!!

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