Made traditional IRA contribution for 2018 in 2019. Was I supposed to file 8606 form in 2019?

[macuser_22]

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@Dundee669 wrote:

EXACTLY. That is my point. You are not allowed to file 8606 one year later. And that's, in my personal opinion, idiotic. Because what happens is people contribute for previous year AFTER they file the return.

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That is the way that Congress wrote the tax laws - nobody claims that they make sense.

Many of those people make the contribution to a Traditional IRA specifically so that they can *deduct* the contribution and to do that after they filed requires them to file a 1040X (amended) tax return.  At least a 8606 can be submitted without amending.

You always have the option to file a 4868 extension to file (not pay) until Oct 15 so that it can be included in the original return.

[fanfare]

You just didn't understand the concept of non-deductible contribution and its role  in the quest for a tax-free Roth conversion.

Based on the questions posed in this forum that's true for about 75% of filers asking for help.

By the way, I agree from personal experience that the fund company phone advisers often don't know what they're talking about and give misinformation.

[fanfare]

Mail in the 2018 Form 8606 now, File on July 15th and your tax return will sail through with no problems.

[Dundee669]

Ouch... I hope I got your response a bit earlier. I already filed my 2019 return. I filed 8606 for 2018 and it will be sent today. But your advice makes total sense...

P.S. I do understand (understood) the concept of deduction. The problem is completely different in nature.  It is "coded" in the law itself, not in the people interpretation of the law. 

Again:

1. In January 2019 I file 2018 return. Get my money back and put "behind me". Tax season has passed for me. That's it.

2. Now, I got some money and decided to improve my retirement situation (which is not great at all). I opened Traditional IRA and contributed $6,000. Ok.

3. Fidelity: "You can contribute for 2018 until Apr 15". Me: "Cool, it would be nice". I do it, add another $5,500. Of course they are NOT deducted on my 2018 return. OBVIOUSLY!

4. Law (somewhere in DC, whispering): "you should have file 8606". Me, in Chicago Illinois: … going with my business. How in real world It can occur to me that I need to file form "8606" about which there was no realistic scenario that would come across it??? And how my understanding of "deducted/nondeducted, etc" could have effect my decision? Really? I finished my 2018 return, I am done, it just unreasonable to expect people to think that their 2019 action would affect their 2018 return documentation. Reasonable people expect that what they do in 2019 would be able to be accounted for in 2019 return.