For Which Year(s) Are You Covered by an Employer Plan?

Special rules apply to determine the tax years for which you are covered by an employer plan. These rules differ depending on whether the plan is a defined contribution plan or a defined benefit plan.

Tax year. Your tax year is the annual accounting period you use to keep records and report income and expenses on your income tax return. For almost all people, the tax year is the calendar year.

Defined contribution plan. Generally, you are covered by a defined contribution plan for a tax year if amounts are contributed or allocated to your account for the plan year that ends with or within that tax year.

A defined contribution plan is a plan that provides for a separate account for each person covered by the plan. Types of defined contribution plans include profit-sharing plans, stock bonus plans, and money purchase pension plans.

Defined benefit plan. If you are eligible to participate in your employer’s defined benefit plan for the plan year that ends within your tax year, you are covered by the plan. This rule applies even if you:

• Declined to participate in the plan,
• Did not make a required contribution, or
• Did not perform the minimum service required to accrue a benefit for the year.

A defined benefit plan is any plan that is not a defined contribution plan. Defined benefit plans include pension plans and annuity plans.

No vested interest. If you accrue a benefit for a plan year, you are covered by that plan even if you have no vested interest in (legal right to) the accrual.

Situations in Which You Are Not Covered by an Employer Plan

Unless you are covered under another employer plan, you are not covered by an employer plan if you are in one of the situations described below.

Social security or railroad retirement. Coverage under social security or railroad retirement is not coverage under an employer retirement plan.

Benefits from a previous employer’s plan. If you receive retirement benefits from a previous employer’s plan, you are not covered by that plan.

Reservists. If the only reason you participate in a plan is because you are a member of a reserve unit of the armed forces, you may not be covered by the plan. You are not covered by the plan if both of the following conditions are met.

1. The plan you participate in is established for its employees by:
   1. The United States,
   2. A state or political subdivision of a state, or
   3. An instrumentality of either (a) or (b) above.
2. You did not serve more than 90 days on active duty during the year (not counting duty for training).

Volunteer firefighters. If the only reason you participate in a plan is because you are a volunteer firefighter, you may not be covered by the plan. You are not covered by the plan if both of the following conditions are met.

1. The plan you participate in is established for its employees by:
   1. The United States,
   2. A state or political subdivision of a state, or
   3. An instrumentality of either (a) or (b) above.
2. Your accrued retirement benefits at the beginning of the year will not provide more than $1,800 per year at retirement.

Limit if Covered by Employer Plan

If either you or your spouse was covered by an employer retirement plan, you may be entitled to only a partial (reduced) deduction or no deduction at all, depending on your income and your filing status.

Your deduction begins to decrease (phase out) when your income rises above a certain amount and is eliminated altogether when it reaches a higher amount. These amounts vary depending on your filing status.

To determine if your deduction is subject to phaseout, you must determine your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) and your filing status. See Filing status and Modified adjusted gross income (AGI), later. Then use Table 17-1 or 17-2 to determine if the phaseout applies.

Social security recipients. Instead of using Table 17-1 or Table 17-2, use the worksheets in Appendix B of Pub. 590-A if, for the year, all of the following apply.

• You received social security benefits.
• You received taxable compensation.
• Contributions were made to your traditional IRA.
• You or your spouse was covered by an employer retirement plan.

Use those worksheets to figure your IRA deduction, your nondeductible contribution, and the taxable portion, if any, of your social security benefits.

Deduction phaseout. If you were covered by an employer retirement plan and you did not receive any social security retirement benefits, your IRA deduction may be reduced or eliminated depending on your filing status and modified AGI, as shown in Table 17-1.

If your spouse is covered. If you are not covered by an employer retirement plan, but your spouse is, and you did not receive any social security benefits, your IRA deduction may be reduced or eliminated entirely depending on your filing status and modified AGI, as shown in Table 17-2.

Filing status. Your filing status depends primarily on your marital status. For this purpose, you need to know if your filing status is single or head of household, married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er), or married filing separately. If you need more information on filing status, see chapter 2.

Lived apart from spouse. If you did not live with your spouse at any time during the year and you file a separate return, your filing status, for this purpose, is single.

Modified adjusted gross income (AGI). How you figure your modified AGI depends on whether you are filing Form 1040 or Form 1040A. If you made contributions to your IRA for 2017 and received a distribution from your IRA in 2017, see Pub. 590. You may be able to use Worksheet 17-1 to figure your modified AGI.

Form 1040. If you file Form 1040, refigure the amount on the page 1 “adjusted gross income” line without taking into account any of the following amounts.

• IRA deduction.
• Student loan interest deduction.
• Tuition and fees deduction.
• Domestic production activities deduction.
• Foreign earned income exclusion.
• Foreign housing exclusion or deduction.
• Exclusion of qualified savings bond interest shown on Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest from Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989.
• Exclusion of employer-provided adoption benefits shown on Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses.

This is your modified AGI.

Form 1040A. If you file Form 1040A, refigure the amount on the page 1 “adjusted gross income” line without taking into account any of the following amounts.

• IRA deduction.
• Student loan interest deduction.
• Tuition and fees deduction.
• Exclusion of qualified savings bond interest shown on Form 8815.

This is your modified AGI.

Both contributions for 2017 and distributions in 2017. If all three of the following apply, any IRA distributions you received in 2017 may be partly tax free and partly taxable.

• You received distributions in 2017 from one or more traditional IRAs.
• You made contributions to a traditional IRA for 2017.
• Some of those contributions may be nondeductible contributions.

If this is your situation, you must figure the taxable part of the traditional IRA distribution before you can figure your modified AGI. To do this, you can use Worksheet 1-1, Figuring the Taxable Part of Your IRA Distribution, in Pub. 590-B.

If at least one of the above does not apply, figure your modified AGI using Worksheet 17-1, later.

How to figure your reduced IRA deduction. You can figure your reduced IRA deduction for either Form 1040 or Form 1040A by using the worksheets in chapter 1 of Pub. 590-A. Also, the Instructions for Form 1040 and Form 1040A include similar worksheets that you may be able to use instead.

Reporting Deductible Contributions

If you file Form 1040, enter your IRA deduction on line 32 of that form. If you file Form 1040A, enter your IRA deduction on line 17. You cannot deduct IRA contributions on Form 1040EZ.

Trustee-to-Trustee Transfer

A transfer of funds in your traditional IRA from one trustee directly to another, either at your request or at the trustee’s request, is not a rollover. This includes the situation where the current trustee issues a check to the new trustee but gives it to you to deposit. Because there is no distribution to you, the transfer is tax free. Because it is not a rollover, it is not affected by the 1-year waiting period required between rollovers, discussed later under Rollover from One IRA into Another. For information about direct transfers to IRAs from retirement plans other than IRAs, see Can You Move Retirement Plan Assets? in chapter 1 and Can You Move Amounts into a Roth IRA? in chapter 2 of Pub. 590-A.

Rollovers

Generally, a rollover is a tax-free distribution to you of cash or other assets from one retirement plan that you contribute (roll over) to another retirement plan. The contribution to the second retirement plan is called a “rollover contribution.”

Note. An amount rolled over tax free from one retirement plan to another is generally includible in income when it is distributed from the second plan.

Kinds of rollovers to a traditional IRA. You can roll over amounts from the following plans into a traditional IRA:

• A traditional IRA,
• An employer’s qualified retirement plan for its employees,
• A deferred compensation plan of a state or local government (Section 457 plan), or
• A tax-sheltered annuity plan (Section 403(b) plan).

Treatment of rollovers. You cannot deduct a rollover contribution, but you must report the rollover distribution on your tax return as discussed later under Reporting rollovers from IRAs and under Reporting rollovers from employer plans.

Kinds of rollovers from a traditional IRA. You may be able to roll over, tax free, a distribution from your traditional IRA into a qualified plan. These plans include the federal Thrift Savings Fund (for federal employees), deferred compensation plans of state or local governments (Section 457 plans), and tax-sheltered annuity plans (Section 403(b) plans). The part of the distribution that you can roll over is the part that would otherwise be taxable (includible in your income). Qualified plans may, but are not required to, accept such rollovers.

Time limit for making a rollover contribution. You generally must make the rollover contribution by the 60th day after the day you receive the distribution from your traditional IRA or your employer’s plan.

The IRS may waive the 60-day requirement where the failure to do so would be against equity or good conscience, such as in the event of a casualty, disaster, or other event beyond your reasonable control. For more information, see Can You Move Retirement Plan Assets? in chapter 1 of Pub. 590-A.

Extension of rollover period. If an amount distributed to you from a traditional IRA or a qualified employer retirement plan is a frozen deposit at any time during the 60-day period allowed for a rollover, special rules extend the rollover period. For more information, see Can You Move Retirement Plan Assets? in chapter 1 of Pub. 590-A.

More information. For more information on rollovers, see Can You Move Retirement Plan Assets? in chapter 1 of Pub. 590-A.

Rollover from One IRA into Another

You can withdraw, tax free, all or part of the assets from one traditional IRA if you reinvest them within 60 days in the same or another traditional IRA. Because this is a rollover, you cannot deduct the amount that you reinvest in an IRA.

Waiting period between rollovers. Generally, if you make a tax-free rollover of any part of a distribution from a traditional IRA, you cannot, within a 1-year period, make a tax-free rollover of any later distribution from that same IRA. You also cannot make a tax-free rollover of any amount distributed, within the same 1-year period, from the IRA into which you made the tax-free rollover.

The 1-year period begins on the date you receive the IRA distribution, not on the date you roll it over into an IRA. New rules apply to the number of rollovers you can have with your traditional IRAs. See Application of one-rollover limitation, below.

Application of one-rollover limitation. You can make only one rollover from an IRA to another (or the same) IRA in any 1-year period regardless of the number of IRAs you own. The limit applies by aggregating all of an individual’s IRAs, including SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, as well as traditional and Roth IRAs, effectively treating them as one IRA for purposes of the limit. However, trustee-to-trustee transfers between IRAs are not limited and rollovers from traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs (conversions) are not limited.

Example. John has three traditional IRAs, IRA-1, IRA-2, IRA-3. John did not take any distributions from his IRAs in 2017. On January 1, 2018, John took a distribution from IRA-1 and rolled it over into IRA-2 on the same day. For 2018, John cannot roll over any other 2018 IRA distribution, including a rollover distribution involving IRA-3. This would not apply to a trustee-to-trustee transfer or a Roth IRA conversion.

Partial rollovers. If you withdraw assets from a traditional IRA, you can roll over part of the withdrawal tax free and keep the rest of it. The amount you keep will generally be taxable (except for the part that is a return of nondeductible contributions). The amount you keep may be subject to the 10% additional tax on early distributions, discussed later under What Acts Result in Penalties or Additional Taxes?

Required distributions. Amounts that must be distributed during a particular year under the required distribution rules (discussed later) are not eligible for rollover treatment.

Inherited IRAs. If you inherit a traditional IRA from your spouse, you generally can roll it over, or you can choose to make the inherited IRA your own. See Treating it as your own, earlier.

Not inherited from spouse. If you inherit a traditional IRA from someone other than your spouse, you cannot roll it over or allow it to receive a rollover contribution. You must withdraw the IRA assets within a certain period. For more information, see When Must You Withdraw Assets? in chapter 1 of Pub. 590-B.

Reporting rollovers from IRAs. Report any rollover from one traditional IRA to the same or another traditional IRA on lines 15a and 15b, Form 1040, or lines 11a and 11b, Form 1040A, as follows.

Enter the total amount of the distribution on Form 1040, line 15a, or Form 1040A, line 11a. If the total amount on Form 1040, line 15a, or Form 1040A, line 11a, was rolled over, enter zero on Form 1040, line 15b, or Form 1040A, line 11b. If the total distribution was not rolled over, enter the taxable portion of the part that was not rolled over on Form 1040, line 15b, or Form 1040A, line 11b. Put “Rollover” next to Form 1040, line 15b, or Form 1040A, line 11b. See your tax return instructions.

If you rolled over the distribution into a qualified plan (other than an IRA) or you make the rollover in 2018, attach a statement explaining what you did.

Rollover from Employer’s Plan into an IRA

You can roll over into a traditional IRA all or part of an eligible rollover distribution you receive from your (or your deceased spouse’s):

• Employer’s qualified pension, profit-sharing, or stock bonus plan;
• Annuity plan;
• Tax-sheltered annuity plan (Section 403(b) plan); or
• Governmental deferred compensation plan (Section 457 plan).

A qualified plan is one that meets the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code.

Eligible rollover distribution. Generally, an eligible rollover distribution is any distribution of all or part of the balance to your credit in a qualified retirement plan except the following.

1. A required minimum distribution (explained later under When Must You Withdraw IRA Assets? (Required Minimum Distributions)).
2. A hardship distribution.
3. Any of a series of substantially equal periodic distributions paid at least once a year over:
   1. Your lifetime or life expectancy,
   2. The lifetimes or life expectancies of you and your beneficiary, or
   3. A period of 10 years or more.
4. Corrective distributions of excess contributions or excess deferrals, and any income allocable to the excess, or of excess annual additions and any allocable gains.
5. A loan treated as a distribution because it does not satisfy certain requirements either when made or later (such as upon default), unless the participant’s accrued benefits are reduced (offset) to repay the loan.
6. Dividends on employer securities.
7. The cost of life insurance coverage.

Rollover by nonspouse beneficiary. A direct transfer from a deceased employee’s qualified pension, profit-sharing, or stock bonus plan; annuity plan; tax-sheltered annuity (Section 403(b)) plan; or governmental deferred compensation (Section 457) plan to an IRA set up to receive the distribution on your behalf can be treated as an eligible rollover distribution if you are the designated beneficiary of the plan and not the employee’s spouse. The IRA is treated as an inherited IRA. For more information about inherited IRAs, see Inherited IRAs, earlier.

Reporting rollovers from employer plans. Enter the total distribution (before income tax or other deductions were withheld) on Form 1040, line 16a, or Form 1040A, line 12a. This amount should be shown in box 1 of Form 1099-R. From this amount, subtract any contributions (usually shown in box 5 of Form 1099-R) that were taxable to you when made. From that result, subtract the amount that was rolled over either directly or within 60 days of receiving the distribution. Enter the remaining amount, even if zero, on Form 1040, line 16b, or Form 1040A, line 12b. Also, enter “Rollover” next to Form 1040, line 16b, or Form 1040A, line 12b.

Transfers Incident To Divorce

If an interest in a traditional IRA is transferred from your spouse or former spouse to you by a divorce or separate maintenance decree or a written document related to such a decree, the interest in the IRA, starting from the date of the transfer, is treated as your IRA. The transfer is tax free. For detailed information, see Can You Move Retirement Plan Assets? in chapter 1 of Pub. 590-A.

Converting from Any Traditional IRA To a Roth IRA

Allowable conversions. You can withdraw all or part of the assets from a traditional IRA and reinvest them (within 60 days) in a Roth IRA. The amount that you withdraw and timely contribute (convert) to the Roth IRA is called a conversion contribution. If properly (and timely) rolled over, the 10% additional tax on early distributions will not apply. However, a part or all of the conversion contribution from your traditional IRA is included in your gross income.

Required distributions. You cannot convert amounts that must be distributed from your traditional IRA for a particular year (including the calendar year in which you reach age 70½) under the required distribution rules (discussed later).

Income. You must include in your gross income distributions from a traditional IRA that you would have had to include in income if you had not converted them into a Roth IRA. These amounts are normally included in income on your return for the year that you converted them from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.

You do not include in gross income any part of a distribution from a traditional IRA that is a return of your basis, as discussed later.

You must file Form 8606 to report 2017 conversions from traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRAs to a Roth IRA in 2017 (unless you recharacterized the entire amount) and to figure the amount to include in income.

If you must include any amount in your gross income, you may have to increase your withholding or make estimated tax payments. See chapter 4.

Recharacterizations

You may be able to treat a contribution made to one type of IRA as having been made to a different type of IRA. This is called recharacterizing the contribution. See Can You Move Retirement Plan Assets? in chapter 1 of Pub. 590-A for more detailed information.

How to recharacterize a contribution. To recharacterize a contribution, you generally must have the contribution transferred from the first IRA (the one to which it was made) to the second IRA in a trustee-to-trustee transfer. If the transfer is made by the due date (including extensions) for your tax return for the year during which the contribution was made, you can elect to treat the contribution as having been originally made to the second IRA instead of to the first IRA. If you recharacterize your contribution, you must do all three of the following.

• Include in the transfer any net income allocable to the contribution. If there was a loss, the net income you must transfer may be a negative amount.
• Report the recharacterization on your tax return for the year during which the contribution was made.
• Treat the contribution as having been made to the second IRA on the date that it was actually made to the first IRA.

No deduction allowed. You cannot deduct the contribution to the first IRA. Any net income you transfer with the recharacterized contribution is treated as earned in the second IRA.

Required notifications. To recharacterize a contribution, you must notify both the trustee of the first IRA (the one to which the contribution was actually made) and the trustee of the second IRA (the one to which the contribution is being moved) that you have elected to treat the contribution as having been made to the second IRA rather than the first. You must make the notifications by the date of the transfer. Only one notification is required if both IRAs are maintained by the same trustee. The notification(s) must include all of the following information.

• The type and amount of the contribution to the first IRA that is to be recharacterized.
• The date on which the contribution was made to the first IRA and the year for which it was made.
• A direction to the trustee of the first IRA to transfer in a trustee-to-trustee transfer the amount of the contribution and any net income (or loss) allocable to the contribution to the trustee of the second IRA.
• The name of the trustee of the first IRA and the name of the trustee of the second IRA.
• Any additional information needed to make the transfer.

Reporting a recharacterization. If you elect to recharacterize a contribution to one IRA as a contribution to another IRA, you must report the recharacterization on your tax return as directed by Form 8606 and its instructions. You must treat the contribution as having been made to the second IRA.

Distributions Fully or Partly Taxable

Distributions from your traditional IRA may be fully or partly taxable, depending on whether your IRA includes any nondeductible contributions.

Fully taxable. If only deductible contributions were made to your traditional IRA (or IRAs, if you have more than one), you have no basis in your IRA. Because you have no basis in your IRA, any distributions are fully taxable when received. See Reporting taxable distributions on your return, later.

Partly taxable. If you made nondeductible contributions or rolled over any after-tax amounts to any of your traditional IRAs, you have a cost basis (investment in the contract) equal to the amount of those contributions. These nondeductible contributions are not taxed when they are distributed to you. They are a return of your investment in your IRA.

Only the part of the distribution that represents nondeductible contributions and rolled over after-tax amounts (your cost basis) is tax free. If nondeductible contributions have been made or after-tax amounts have been rolled over to your IRA, distributions consist partly of nondeductible contributions (basis) and partly of deductible contributions, earnings, and gains (if there are any). Until all of your basis has been distributed, each distribution is partly nontaxable and partly taxable.

Form 8606. You must complete Form 8606 and attach it to your return if you receive a distribution from a traditional IRA and have ever made nondeductible contributions or rolled over after-tax amounts to any of your traditional IRAs. Using the form, you will figure the nontaxable distributions for 2017 and your total IRA basis for 2017 and earlier years.

Note. If you are required to file Form 8606, but you are not required to file an income tax return, you still must file Form 8606. Send it to the IRS at the time and place you would otherwise file an income tax return.

Distributions reported on Form 1099-R. If you receive a distribution from your traditional IRA, you will receive Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc., or a similar statement. IRA distributions are shown in boxes 1 and 2a of Form 1099-R. The number or letter codes in box 7 tell you what type of distribution you received from your IRA.

Withholding. Federal income tax is withheld from distributions from traditional IRAs unless you choose not to have tax withheld. See chapter 4.

IRA distributions delivered outside the United States. In general, if you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien and your home address is outside the United States or its possessions, you cannot choose exemption from withholding on distributions from your traditional IRA.

Reporting taxable distributions on your return. Report fully taxable distributions, including early distributions, on Form 1040, line 15b, or Form 1040A, line 11b (no entry is required on Form 1040, line 15a, or Form 1040A, line 11a). If only part of the distribution is taxable, enter the total amount on Form 1040, line 15a, or Form 1040A, line 11a, and the taxable part on Form 1040, line 15b, or Form 1040A, line 11b. You cannot report distributions on Form 1040EZ.

Prohibited Transactions

Generally, a prohibited transaction is any improper use of your traditional IRA by you, your beneficiary, or any disqualified person.

Disqualified persons include your fiduciary and members of your family (spouse, ancestor, lineal descendant, and any spouse of a lineal descendant).

The following are examples of prohibited transactions with a traditional IRA.

• Borrowing money from it.
• Selling property to it.
• Using it as security for a loan.
• Buying property for personal use (present or future) with IRA funds.

Effect on an IRA account. Generally, if you or your beneficiary engages in a prohibited transaction in connection with your traditional IRA account at any time during the year, the account stops being an IRA as of the first day of that year.

Effect on you or your beneficiary. If your account stops being an IRA because you or your beneficiary engaged in a prohibited transaction, the account is treated as distributing all its assets to you at their fair market values on the first day of the year. If the total of those values is more than your basis in the IRA, you will have a taxable gain that is includible in your income. For information on figuring your gain and reporting it in income, see Are Distributions Taxable?, earlier. The distribution may be subject to additional taxes or penalties.

Taxes on prohibited transactions. If someone other than the owner or beneficiary of a traditional IRA engages in a prohibited transaction, that person may be liable for certain taxes. In general, there is a 15% tax on the amount of the prohibited transaction and a 100% additional tax if the transaction is not corrected.

More information. For more information on prohibited transactions, see What Acts Result in Penalties or Additional Taxes? in chapter 1 of Pub. 590-A.

Excess Contributions

Generally, an excess contribution is the amount contributed to your traditional IRA(s) for the year that is more than the smaller of:

• The maximum deductible amount for the year. For 2017, this is $5,500 ($6,500 if you are 50 or older), or
• Your taxable compensation for the year.

Tax on excess contributions. In general, if the excess contributions for a year are not withdrawn by the date your return for the year is due (including extensions), you are subject to a 6% tax. You must pay the 6% tax each year on excess amounts that remain in your traditional IRA at the end of your tax year. The tax cannot be more than 6% of the combined value of all your IRAs as of the end of your tax year.

Excess contributions withdrawn by due date of return. You will not have to pay the 6% tax if you withdraw an excess contribution made during a tax year and you also withdraw interest or other income earned on the excess contribution. You must complete your withdrawal by the date your tax return for that year is due, including extensions.

How to treat withdrawn contributions. Do not include in your gross income an excess contribution that you withdraw from your traditional IRA before your tax return is due if both the following conditions are met.

• No deduction was allowed for the excess contribution.
• You withdraw the interest or other income earned on the excess contribution.

You can take into account any loss on the contribution while it was in the IRA when calculating the amount that must be withdrawn. If there was a loss, the net income you must withdraw may be a negative amount.

How to treat withdrawn interest or other income. You must include in your gross income the interest or other income that was earned on the excess contribution. Report it on your return for the year in which the excess contribution was made. Your withdrawal of interest or other income may be subject to an additional 10% tax on early distributions, discussed later.

Excess contributions withdrawn after due date of return. In general, you must include all distributions (withdrawals) from your traditional IRA in your gross income. However, if the following conditions are met, you can withdraw excess contributions from your IRA and not include the amount withdrawn in your gross income.

• Total contributions (other than rollover contributions) for 2017 to your IRA were not more than $5,500 ($6,500 if you are 50 or older).
• You did not take a deduction for the excess contribution being withdrawn.

The withdrawal can take place at any time, even after the due date, including extensions, for filing your tax return for the year.

Excess contribution deducted in an earlier year. If you deducted an excess contribution in an earlier year for which the total contributions were not more than the maximum deductible amount for that year (see the following table), you can still remove the excess from your traditional IRA and not include it in your gross income. To do this, file Form 1040X for that year and do not deduct the excess contribution on the amended return. Generally, you can file an amended return within 3 years after you filed your return, or 2 years from the time the tax was paid, whichever is later.

Excess due to incorrect rollover information. If an excess contribution in your traditional IRA is the result of a rollover and the excess occurred because the information the plan was required to give you was incorrect, you can withdraw the excess contribution. The limits mentioned above are increased by the amount of the excess that is due to the incorrect information. You will have to amend your return for the year in which the excess occurred to correct the reporting of the rollover amounts in that year. Do not include in your gross income the part of the excess contribution caused by the incorrect information.

Early Distributions

You must include early distributions of taxable amounts from your traditional IRA in your gross income. Early distributions are also subject to an additional 10% tax. See the discussion of Form 5329 under Reporting Additional Taxes, later, to figure and report the tax.

Early distributions defined. Early distributions generally are amounts distributed from your traditional IRA account or annuity before you are age 59½.

Age 59½ rule. Generally, if you are under age 59½, you must pay a 10% additional tax on the distribution of any assets (money or other property) from your traditional IRA. Distributions before you are age 59½ are called early distributions.

The 10% additional tax applies to the part of the distribution that you have to include in gross income. It is in addition to any regular income tax on that amount.

Exceptions. There are several exceptions to the age 59½ rule. Even if you receive a distribution before you are age 59½, you may not have to pay the 10% additional tax if you are in one of the following situations.

• You have unreimbursed medical expenses that are more than 10% (or 7.5% if you or your spouse were born before January 2, 1952) of your adjusted gross income.
• The distributions are not more than the cost of your medical insurance due to a period of unemployment.
• You are totally and permanently disabled.
• You are the beneficiary of a deceased IRA owner.
• You are receiving distributions in the form of an annuity.
• The distributions are not more than your qualified higher education expenses.
• You use the distributions to buy, build, or rebuild a first home.
• The distribution is due to an IRS levy of the qualified plan.
• The distribution is a qualified reservist distribution.

Most of these exceptions are explained under Early Distributions in What Acts Result in Penalties or Additional Taxes? in chapter 1 of Pub. 590-B.

Note. Distributions that are timely and properly rolled over, as discussed earlier, are not subject to either regular income tax or the 10% additional tax. Certain withdrawals of excess contributions after the due date of your return are also tax free and therefore not subject to the 10% additional tax. (See Excess contributions withdrawn after due date of return, earlier.) This also applies to transfers incident to divorce, as discussed earlier.

Receivership distributions. Early distributions (with or without your consent) from savings institutions placed in receivership are subject to this tax unless one of the exceptions listed earlier applies. This is true even if the distribution is from a receiver that is a state agency.

Additional 10% tax. The additional tax on early distributions is 10% of the amount of the early distribution that you must include in your gross income. This tax is in addition to any regular income tax resulting from including the distribution in income.

Nondeductible contributions. The tax on early distributions does not apply to the part of a distribution that represents a return of your nondeductible contributions (basis).

More information. For more information on early distributions, see What Acts Result in Penalties or Additional Taxes? in chapter 1 of Pub. 590-B.

Excess Accumulations (Insufficient Distributions)

You cannot keep amounts in your traditional IRA indefinitely. Generally, you must begin receiving distributions by April 1 of the year following the year in which you reach age 70½. The required minimum distribution for any year after the year in which you reach age 70½ must be made by December 31 of that later year.

Tax on excess. If distributions are less than the required minimum distribution for the year, you may have to pay a 50% excise tax for that year on the amount not distributed as required.

Request to waive the tax. If the excess accumulation is due to reasonable error, and you have taken, or are taking, steps to remedy the insufficient distribution, you can request that the tax be waived. If you believe you qualify for this relief, attach a statement of explanation and complete Form 5329 as instructed under Waiver of tax in the Instructions for Form 5329.

Exemption from tax. If you are unable to take required distributions because you have a traditional IRA invested in a contract issued by an insurance company that is in state insurer delinquency proceedings, the 50% excise tax does not apply if the conditions and requirements of Revenue Procedure 92-10 are satisfied.

More information. For more information on excess accumulations, see What Acts Result in Penalties or Additional Taxes? in chapter 1 of Pub. 590-B.

Reporting Additional Taxes

Generally, you must use Form 5329 to report the tax on excess contributions, early distributions, and excess accumulations. If you must file Form 5329, you cannot use Form 1040A or Form 1040EZ.

Filing a tax return. If you must file an individual income tax return, complete Form 5329 and attach it to your Form 1040. Enter the total additional taxes due on Form 1040, line 59.

Not filing a tax return. If you do not have to file a tax return but do have to pay one of the additional taxes mentioned earlier, file the completed Form 5329 with the IRS at the time and place you would have filed your Form 1040. Be sure to include your address on page 1 and your signature and date on page 2. Enclose, but do not attach, a check or money order payable to the United States Treasury for the tax you owe, as shown on Form 5329. Enter your social security number and “2017 Form 5329” on your check or money order.

Form 5329 not required. You do not have to use Form 5329 if either of the following situations exists.

• Distribution code 1 (early distribution) is correctly shown in box 7 of all your Forms 1099-R. If you do not owe any other additional tax on a distribution, multiply the taxable part of the early distribution by 10% and enter the result on Form 1040, line 59. Put “No” to the left of the line to indicate that you do not have to file Form 5329. However, if you owe this tax and also owe any other additional tax on a distribution, do not enter this 10% additional tax directly on your Form 1040. You must file Form 5329 to report your additional taxes.
• If you rolled over part or all of a distribution from a qualified retirement plan, the part rolled over is not subject to the tax on early distributions.

How Much Can Be Contributed?

The contribution limit for Roth IRAs generally depends on whether contributions are made only to Roth IRAs or to both traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs.

Roth IRAs only. If contributions are made only to Roth IRAs, your contribution limit generally is the lesser of the following amounts.

• $5,500 ($6,500 if you are 50 or older in 2017).
• Your taxable compensation.

However, if your modified AGI is above a certain amount, your contribution limit may be reduced, as explained later under Contribution limit reduced.

Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs. If contributions are made to both Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs established for your benefit, your contribution limit for Roth IRAs generally is the same as your limit would be if contributions were made only to Roth IRAs, but then reduced by all contributions for the year to all IRAs other than Roth IRAs. Employer contributions under a SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan do not affect this limit.

This means that your contribution limit is generally the lesser of the following amounts.

• $5,500 ($6,500 if you are 50 or older in 2017) minus all contributions (other than employer contributions under a SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan) for the year to all IRAs other than Roth IRAs.
• Your taxable compensation minus all contributions (other than employer contributions under a SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan) for the year to all IRAs other than Roth IRAs.

However, if your modified AGI is above a certain amount, your contribution limit may be reduced, as explained next under Contribution limit reduced.

Contribution limit reduced. If your modified AGI is above a certain amount, your contribution limit is gradually reduced. Use Table 17-3 to determine if this reduction applies to you.

Figuring the reduction. If the amount you can contribute to your Roth IRA is reduced, see Worksheet 2-2 under Can You Contribute to a Roth IRA? in chapter 2 of Pub. 590-A for how to figure the reduction.

When Can You Make Contributions?

You can make contributions to a Roth IRA for a year at any time during the year or by the due date of your return for that year (not including extensions).

What If You Contribute Too Much?

A 6% excise tax applies to any excess contribution to a Roth IRA.

Excess contributions. These are the contributions to your Roth IRAs for a year that equal the total of:

1. Amounts contributed for the tax year to your Roth IRAs (other than amounts properly and timely rolled over from a Roth IRA or properly converted from a traditional IRA or rolled over from a qualified retirement plan, as described later) that are more than your contribution limit for the year, plus
2. Any excess contributions for the preceding year, reduced by the total of:
   1. Any distributions out of your Roth IRAs for the year, plus
   2. Your contribution limit for the year minus your contributions to all your IRAs for the year.

Withdrawal of excess contributions. For purposes of determining excess contributions, any contribution that is withdrawn on or before the due date (including extensions) for filing your tax return for the year is treated as an amount not contributed. This treatment applies only if any earnings on the contributions are also withdrawn. The earnings are considered to have been earned and received in the year the excess contribution was made.

Applying excess contributions. If contributions to your Roth IRA for a year were more than the limit, you can apply the excess contribution in one year to a later year if the contributions for that later year are less than the maximum allowed for that year.

Conversions

You can convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. The conversion is treated as a rollover, regardless of the conversion method used. Most of the rules for rollovers, described earlier under Rollover from One IRA into Another under Traditional IRAs, apply to these rollovers. However, the 1-year waiting period does not apply.

Conversion methods. You can convert amounts from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in any of the following ways.

• Rollover. You can receive a distribution from a traditional IRA and roll it over (contribute it) to a Roth IRA within 60 days after the distribution.
• Trustee-to-trustee transfer. You can direct the trustee of the traditional IRA to transfer an amount from the traditional IRA to the trustee of the Roth IRA.
• Same trustee transfer. If the trustee of the traditional IRA also maintains the Roth IRA, you can direct the trustee to transfer an amount from the traditional IRA to the Roth IRA.

Same trustee. Conversions made with the same trustee can be made by redesignating the traditional IRA as a Roth IRA, rather than opening a new account or issuing a new contract.

Rollover from a qualified retirement plan into a Roth IRA. You can roll over into a Roth IRA all or part of an eligible rollover distribution you receive from your (or your deceased spouse’s):

• Employer’s qualified pension, profit-sharing, or stock bonus plan;
• Annuity plan;
• Tax-sheltered annuity plan (Section 403(b) plan); or
• Governmental deferred compensation plan (Section 457 plan).

Any amount rolled over is subject to the same rules as those for converting a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. Also, the rollover contribution must meet the rollover requirements that apply to the specific type of retirement plan.

Income. You must include in your gross income distributions from a qualified retirement plan that you would have had to include in income if you had not rolled them over into a Roth IRA. You do not include in gross income any part of a distribution from a qualified retirement plan that is a return of basis (after-tax contributions) to the plan that were taxable to you when paid. These amounts are normally included in income on your return for the year you rolled them over from the employer plan to a Roth IRA.

For more information, see Rollover from Employer’s Plan into a Roth IRA in chapter 2 of Pub. 590-A.

Converting from a SIMPLE IRA. Generally, you can convert an amount in your SIMPLE IRA to a Roth IRA under the same rules explained earlier under Converting from Any Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA under Traditional IRAs.

However, you cannot convert any amount distributed from the SIMPLE IRA during the 2-year period beginning on the date you first participated in any SIMPLE IRA plan maintained by your employer.

More information. For more detailed information on conversions, see Can You Move Amounts into a Roth IRA? under chapter 2 in Pub. 590-A.

Rollover from a Roth IRA

You can withdraw, tax free, all or part of the assets from one Roth IRA if you contribute them within 60 days to another Roth IRA. Most of the rules for rollovers, explained earlier under Rollover from One IRA into Another under Traditional IRAs, apply to these rollovers.

Rollover from designated Roth account. A rollover from a designated Roth account can only be made to another designated Roth account or to a Roth IRA. For more information about designated Roth accounts, see chapter 10.