Made and excess IRA contribution in 2017 and had it removed before the penalty deadline. I did not take an IRA deduction for it. Do I need to file a 1040X for 2017?

[65omvadthirty]

Received the 2018 1099R which shows the excess IRA contribution as a distribution with distribution code P.  Turbo Tax program indicated I might need to file amended 2017 taxes.  Went through that procedure and no changes were made to the original filing.  Do I need to file a 1040X for 2017?

[dmertz · Accepted solution]

A code P Form 1099-R would only affect your tax return if box 2a reported a nonzero amount of earnings that were taxable and potentially subject to early-distribution penalty on your 2017 tax return.  So if box 2a has a nonzero amount that was not previously included in your taxable income you should amend, otherwise it's probably not necessary to amend.

Your 2017 tax return should have included an explanation of the original contribution and the return of that contribution, otherwise the IRS might question the fact that the financial institution issued a Form 5498 reporting the original contribution that included the excess and your tax return did not show the excess contribution on Form 5329.

[65omvadthirty]

Thank you for the answer.  it was very helpful.  Should I include a copy of the 2018 1099R's with the 2017 1040X as supporting documentation?

[dmertz]

That's not necessary.  The financial institution will be sending a copy of the 2018 Form 1099-R to the IRS.  Since a code P 2018 Form 1099-R does not report any tax withholding applicable to your 2017 tax return, there is no requirement to include a copy.

Your written explanation provides more detail than is present on a Form 1099-R.  The explanation is normally sent when the tax return is originally filed and takes the place of the Form 1099-R that will generally not be produced by the financial institution nearly a year later.

[65omvadthirty]

Thank you once again for the response.  It is greatly appreciated.  More to the story....
One of the 2018 1099Rs has an amount in box 2a, box 2b is not checked and there is an amount in box 4.
The other 2018 1099R has no entry in box 2a, box 2b is checked and box 4 is 0.00 and box 7 is "P".
Including the information from both 2018 1099Rs in the amended 2017 taxes changes the amount of tax owed.  So, I probably should file a 2017 1040X and include the 2018 1099R that has an amount in box 2a and box 4?

[dmertz]

Does the 2018 Form 1099-R with amounts in boxes 2a and 4 also have code P in box 7?  If not, what is the code in box 7?  If it has code P, it's rather unusual to have tax withholding on a code P Form 1099-R.

There is little reason to amend the 2017 tax return to include the code P 2018 Form 1099-R that has nothing in boxes 2a and 4.

Any 2018 Form 1099-R that has an amount in box 4 must be included on your 2018 tax return.  Any 2018 Form 1099-R that has code P in box 7 and an amount in box 2a must be included on your 2017 tax return, an amended 2017 tax return if not previously reported.  That means that any 2018 Form 1099-R that has code P in box 7 and an amount in box 4 must be included on both your 2017 and 2018 tax returns; the amount in box 2a affects the 2017 tax return and the amount in box 4 affects the 2018 tax return.

[65omvadthirty]

Hello again, dmertz.  Yes, the 2018 Form 1099-R with amounts in boxes 2a and 4 has code P in box 7.  I requested that Federal Tax be withheld from any earnings declared on the excess contribution.  The financial institution actually made two separate withdrawals from the account.  One withdrawal was characterized as return of excess contribution, the other - the amount in box 2a - was characterized as withdrawal of earnings on the excess contribution.
I thank you once again for your patience and help.  I believe I now know how to proceed with this.

[dmertz]

Are you sure that the 2018 Form 1099-R showing the earnings has code P, not code 8?  Since the distribution of these earnings occurred in 2018 it should have code 8, not code P, because the earnings are taxable in the year the earnings are taken out.  Only the $420 should be reported on a code P 2018 Form 1099-R.  Having different codes is the reason why these would not have been combined on a single 2018 Form 1099-R.

[65omvadthirty]

Good morning, dmertz.  Yes, I am absolutely sure that the code in box 7 is "P".  Kind of wondered about that.  I will contact the people who sent it out and ask them about it.

Thanks once again.

[dmertz]

I clarified my previous comment, replacing "the earnings are taxable in the year received" with "the earnings are taxable in the year the earnings are taken out."  This is per IRS Pub 560.