If you can contribute, box 13 generally should be marked; verify the plan type with your employer - your plan may be different than what is below. Here is what the IRS says
Check this box if the employee was an “active participant” (for any part of the year) in any of the following.
- A qualified pension, profit-sharing, or stock-bonus plan described in section 401(a) (including a 401(k) plan).
- An annuity plan described in section 403(a).
- An annuity contract or custodial account described in section 403(b).
- A simplified employee pension (SEP) plan described in section 408(k).
- A SIMPLE retirement account described in section 408(p).
- A trust described in section 501(c)(18).
- A plan for federal, state, or local government employees or by an agency or instrumentality thereof (other than a section 457(b) plan).
Generally, an employee is an active participant if covered by (a) a defined benefit plan for any tax year that he or she is eligible to participate in, or (b) a defined contribution plan (for example, a section 401(k) plan) for any tax year that employer or employee contributions (or forfeitures) are added to his or her account. For additional information on employees who are eligible to participate in a plan, contact your plan administrator. For details on the active participant rules, see Notice 87-16, 1987-1 C.B. 446; Notice 98-49, 1998-2 C.B. 365; section 219(g)(5); and Pub. 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). You can find Notice 98-49 on page 5 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 1998-38 at IRS.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb98-38.pdf.
Here is how the tax deductibility of IRA contributions differ based on whether or not that box is checked.
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