New Jersey 401k Distribution

[Ronin10460]

I have taken 100k from my 401k and paid about 20k in taxes to Federal. I am 60 years old, reside in NJ and Turbo Tax says I still owe about 10k. My spouse's income took our AGI to over 200k. Am I missing something? Should I use the Three year Rule and does that apply to me? Thanks.

[DanaB27 · Accepted solution]

It depends, you may use the Three-Year Rule Method if you will recover all of your contributions to the plan within 36 months from the date you receive your first payment from the plan, and both you and your employer contributed to the plan. Please see Worksheet A Which Pension Method to Use on page 5 for additional details.

If you use the Three-year Rule Method, your pension is not reported as taxable income until the payments you receive from the plan equal the amount you contributed. Once you have received an amount equal to your contributions, all payments from the pension plan are fully taxable.

Under General Rule Method, then part of your pension or annuity payment is taxable and part is excluded from your income every year.

[Ronin10460]

I contributed to the plan so long ago.

Do I have to contact the 401k Program, TIAA CREF, to get the amounts for basis and interest, etc...?

Should I even bother because I believe the money was put in pre-tax?

Also, do the aforementioned rules, Three year and General, apply to Pre-tax contributions?

Lastly, Thanks for your assistance. 

[DanaB27 · Accepted solution]

No, it seems the Three-Year Rule Method and General Rule Method don't apply to you if all your contributions were pre-tax. These methods only apply to Contributory Plans (Other Than IRAs):

If you were required to contribute to your retirement plan, it is a contributory plan. Contributions are usually made through payroll deductions, and, in general, have already been taxed. Your contributions are not taxed when withdrawn. However, any employer contributions and earnings that have not been taxed must be reported (NJ Treasury).

If you are not sure if all if your contributions were pre-tax then you might want to check with the plan administrator. 

[fanfare]

@Ronin10460 

If you made any after-tax contributions to your account,

the custodian should have kept records.

The result would be a reduced taxable amount in Box 2a.