Regarding 408p SIMPLE, do I include my employer's contribution to "your total 2024 traditional IRA contribution"?

[pmazzara1]

On 12a of my W-2 my employer contributed $1832 to my 408p SIMPLE plan. This was deducted from my total wages and entered in line 1. My retirement statement shows I added $3760 to my SIMPLE plan which includes the employer contribution. What do I enter under "your total 2024 traditional IRA contribution"? Do I include the amount my employer contributed or subtract that from the $3760?

[dmertz]

"On 12a of my W-2 my employer contributed $1832 to my 408p SIMPLE plan. This was deducted from my total wages and entered in line 1."

The amount shown in with code S in box 12 of your W-2 is your employee elective deferral, not the employer's contribution.  Your retirement account statement shows the total of the additions made by both you and your employer.

Enter amounts shown in box 12 of your W-2 only in box 12 of TurboTax's W-2 form, nowhere else in TurboTax.

The employer contribution goes nowhere on your tax return.

Nothing about these contributions is to be entered anywhere under Deductions & Credits.

[pmazzara1]

Thanks so much for the reply.  Now that I understand what the figure in box 12 represents and know the total amount contributed to my account, what do I enter under "your total 2024 traditional IRA contribution".  Do I include the contribution from my employer?  Thank you.

[VolvoGirl]

You only enter it from the W2, nowhere else.  Not under Deductions as a IRA Contribution.  Your IRA at work is a different kind of IRA than a personal Traditional IRA you can deduct.   

[pmazzara1]

Sorry, maybe I'm being dense but now I'm really confused.  Dmertz said that the figure on the W2 is my employee elective deferral but I think you are saying that the figure on my W2 is my contribution from my employer.  So, again this is what I have....line 12 of W2: $1832;  total contributions to my SIMPLE plan: $3760.  I can deduce that the total contributed ($3760) is the sum of my contribution and my employer's contribution to the plan.  So what do I put in TurboTax when it asks for "total 2024 IRA contribution"?  Do I entire $3760, $1832 or  $1928 ($3760-$1832)? Thank you.

[dmertz]

"but I think you are saying that the figure on my W2 is my contribution from my employer."

I don't think VolvoGirl said anything like that.  She appears to be agreeing with what I said.

[VolvoGirl]

@pmazzara1   Where  is it asking you for total 2024 IRA contributions?  You put 0 zero, unless you also made regular IRA contributions outside of work.  The Simple IRA at work is different than the IRA you set up at the bank or an investment company.  

[pmazzara1]

So TurboTax asks me if I made any contributions to a traditional IRA.  Since my work plan is not a traditional IRA, I would put zero.  My problem was that I thought contributions to my IRA would be deductible.  In effect, the contributions I made were deductible since they were subtracted from my total income on W-2.  The contribution from my employer does not go anywhere on my tax form because it is not tax deductible.  So I presume the brokerage must keep track of which contributions are mine and which are from my employer when determining basis, because some of that is pre-tax and taxable upon withdrawal.  Please let me know if I have any of that incorrect.  Thank you for all your help.

[dmertz]

"I presume the brokerage must keep track of which contributions are mine and which are from my employer when determining basis"

All of the employee and employer contributions made to a SIMPLE IRA are pre-tax.  Your employee elective deferrals, the employer contribution and any investment earnings in the SIMPLE IRA do not result in any  increase in your basis in nondeductible traditional IRA contributions.

Even if you do have basis in nondeductible traditional IRA contributions derived from other sources, IRA custodians have no way to know how much basis you have because they don't file your tax return (which is what establishes such basis).  It's your own responsibility to track any such basis so that you can correctly prepare Form 8606 when you receive an ordinary distribution from any of your traditional IRAs, including the SIMPLE IRA.

IRA contribution entries under Deductions & Credits are only for deposits that you personally make to an IRA, not for any made to employer plans.