How do I find the contributions that I made to my Roth IRA? Do I just add up the deductions taken from each paycheck? Or do I just look at my total account value?

[hayleyeaston]

I have a percentage of paycheck automatically deducted and put straight into my Roth IRA. However, when I add up my total deductions, I am getting a different total than what my total account value states in my account summary. I assume that is due to fluctuations in market value but I just want to make sure I am reporting the correct amount.

[dmertz]

Are you sure that these are a contributions to a Roth IRA and not a contributions to a designated Roth account in a qualified retirement plan like a 401(k)?  401(k)s and similar plans are not IRAs.  If the contributions are shown in box 12 of your W-2, these are not Roth IRA contributions.  Any amounts shown in box 12 of your W-2 are to be entered only in box 12 of TurboTax's W-2 form, nowhere else in TurboTax.

Certainly the account value will vary from the amount contributed due to investment gains or losses.