topic Form 4852 as a substitute for 1099 in Retirement tax questions

Form 4852 as a substitute for 1099

13zbxt — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 08:30:04 GMT

Half of my pension was removed/stolen. Fidelity reported a 1099 R on various accounts I had with them, including this one. It erroneously indicated that I received the funds and that state and Federal taxes were withheld. In order to get a refund on the taxes I paid on what was stolen, do I fill out the 4852?

Or is there a better way of going about getting that refund?

Thanks

Dale

Re: Form 4852 as a substitute for 1099

dmertz — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 22:12:45 GMT

Unfortunately, although money from your retirement account was stolen, you are still responsible for reporting the distributions on your tax return by entering the Forms 1099-R as received. Whatever amounts are shown in boxes 4, 14 and 17 of these forms will be credited on your federal and state tax returns.

Re: Form 4852 as a substitute for 1099

13zbxt — Sat, 13 Apr 2024 14:24:51 GMT

Further reading of IRS documents, it looks like 4852 is not the best fit for this situation. It’s applicable if there was an error reported on the 1099. Seems as though they would prefer a letter of explanation. And apparently by filing out a 4852, delays the finalization of the return up to 665 days.

Re: Form 4852 as a substitute for 1099

JotikaT2 — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 18:42:23 GMT

That is correct. Form 4852 is only used if you did not receive the original tax form or if there is an error on your form that the payer does not correct. In your situation, it would be the 1099-R.

If your retirement account was held with an investment advisor, the pension should have protected under the Employer Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). It may be helpful to look at the resources on that page to see if you have any further steps you can take for the lost funds.

The IRS relies upon the information reported on your 1099-R form. To avoid any delays in processing your return, the information reported on your tax return should match the tax forms provided to you.