Reporting a Roth 403b Excess Deferral

[morganelle]

I made an excess contribution of $5000 to my Roth 403b in 2022. I received back these funds this year (2023), with a loss of $1000.

How do I report these on my 2022 taxes, given that I will not receive an official 1099-R until next year (2023)? Will any of these funds be taxable (box 2a of 1099-R) given that they were Roth contributions?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Opus 17]

Why do you think you made an excess deferral to a 403b?  403b plans are workplace retirement plans for non-profits and are usually managed by your HR department.  How much did you contribute?

Be aware that a Roth IRA is not a 403b, an IRA is a private account and the rules are totally different.  The contribution limit to an IRA was $6000 for 2022 or $7000 if you are over age 50, but the contribution limit for a 403b plan was $19,500 plus $6500 if you are over age 50.  If you told Turbotax you contributed to an IRA when you really contributed to a 403b plan, you will get bad advice.

Please clarify what you really did and exactly when you did it.  

[morganelle]

I had 2 separate not-for-profit jobs in 2022, and both offered a Roth version of their 403b's (using after-tax funds). I accidentally contributed to both in 2022, leading to me exceeding the $20,500 limit in total for both. I realized what I did at the end of 2022, and Fidelity returned the excess funds to me this year (2023). I'm having trouble figuring out how to report this, especially because I took a loss.

[dmertz · Accepted solution]

Because your employer does not exclude Roth 403(b) contributions from box 1 of your W-2, nothing about this excess contribution and its return goes on your 2022 tax return.  Because the corrective distribution was made in 2023, IRS Pub 525 indicates that the $1,000 loss can be claimed on your 2023 tax return on Schedule 1 (Form 1040) line 8z as "Loss on Excess Deferral Distribution."  The 2023 Form 1099-R should have $0 in box 2a.