topic Why do some of my 1099-R forms show a State distribution in Box 16 while others leave it blank? in Retirement tax questions

Why do some of my 1099-R forms show a State distribution in Box 16 while others leave it blank?

wgmurphy81 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 13:38:56 GMT

Re: Why do some of my 1099-R forms show a State distribution in Box 16 while others leave it blank?

DavidD66 — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:56:29 GMT

That's a good question. It really doesn't matter unless there is state tax withheld, in which case the state distribution should be populated.

Re: Why do some of my 1099-R forms show a State distribution in Box 16 while others leave it blank?

SteamTrain — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 01:07:13 GMT

Yeah...I'm never quite clear on the why for that.

My two pension 1099-R forms from Fidelity never have the distribution box filled in, even though both have NC taxes withheld. When I go thru the software though, TTX backfills box 16 with the same value as box 2a (a valid Box 2a value is defined for both forms).