topic What do they mean by, "Value of all IRA's on 12/31/2020? Do they mean the amount you received from your IRA's or how much they're worth? in Retirement tax questions

What do they mean by, "Value of all IRA's on 12/31/2020? Do they mean the amount you received from your IRA's or how much they're worth?

goldy153 — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 15:39:52 GMT

Re: What do they mean by, "Value of all IRA's on 12/31/2020? Do they mean the amount you received from your IRA's or how much they're worth?

macuser_22 — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 15:48:44 GMT

If you have a non-deductible "basis" in the IRA then it must be prorated between the 2020 distribution and remaining market value of ALL Traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRA accounts that existed at the end of 2020.

You only have ONE IRA but can have as many IRA accounts that you want, but the IRA is the aggregate total of all accounts.

Re: What do they mean by, "Value of all IRA's on 12/31/2020? Do they mean the amount you received...

MinhT1 — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 15:52:39 GMT

Value of all IRAs on 12/31/2020 means the fair market value of your IRAs at year end.

You can find that value either in box 5 of your form(s) 5498 or in the December statement of your IRAs.

Re: What do they mean by, "Value of all IRA's on 12/31/2020? Do they mean the amount you received...

macuser_22 — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 16:06:26 GMT

@MinhT1 wrote:

Value of all IRAs on 12/31/2020 means the fair market value of your IRAs at year end.

You can find that value either in box 5 of your form(s) 5498 or in the December statement of your IRAs.

5498 forms for the 2020 value usually are not sent until late May - after the filing date. That is because you have until the filing date (Apr 15, 2021) to make 2020 IRA contributions, so the IRA custodian does not know what to report for contributions on the 5498 until after that date.