what is form 5498 used for

It's just an informational document that summarizes how much money was placed into your IRA retirement account this year. You don't have to enter any of the information into TurboTax for your tax return.

More detail about the 5498 on the TurboTax blog.

Learn more about your tax-advantaged IRA plan at the IRS instructions for Form 1099-R.

if you are being prompted for the 12/31/25 balance of your IRAs for Form 8606 for example you would use year-end statements since Form 5498s are not generally available until May (to reflect contributions made for prior tax year before 4/15/26).