IRA and Roth IRA tax documents: the forms you get and the ones you file

IRA paperwork runs in two directions. Your custodian sends you forms that report what happened in the account. You, or your preparer, file forms that tell the IRS how to tax it.

A Form 5498 is the custodian’s report of IRA contributions, rollovers, conversions and the year-end value, filed for each person who had an IRA (IRS, Reporting IRA transactions). For 2026 contributions it is due by May 31, 2027 (Forms 1099-R and 5498 instructions). Since that is weeks after the April deadline, the return is prepared from your deposit confirmations, and the Form 5498 is the later check.

Money leaving the account shows on a Form 1099-R, filed for each payout of $10 or more (IRS, Reporting IRA transactions). That includes a Roth conversion, since the money leaves a traditional IRA. The Form 1099-R guide explains each box; on 2026 forms, the distribution code and the IRA/SEP/SIMPLE check move to boxes 7a and 7b (Forms 1099-R and 5498 instructions). Money that arrived from a former employer’s plan has its own papers on the workplace plan checklist.

For 2025, you can put in up to $7,000 across all your traditional and Roth IRAs, or $8,000 at age 50 or older (IRS, IRA contribution limits). For 2026, the limits are $7,500 and $8,600 (IRS, IRA contribution limits). If your taxable pay was lower, that lower amount is your limit (IRS, IRA contribution limits).

So the file needs proof of pay, such as a W-2 or the net profit from Schedule C. A spouse with no pay can still contribute on a joint return, based on the other spouse’s pay (IRS, IRA contribution limits).

You can make 2025 contributions until April 15, 2026 (IRS Publication 590-A). A deposit in early spring may count for either year. Ask the custodian for a confirmation that shows the tax year chosen, and keep it with the return.

A traditional IRA deduction also depends on the Box 13 check on each W-2. For 2026, a single filer covered by a workplace plan loses the deduction gradually between $81,000 and $91,000 of modified AGI, against $79,000 to $89,000 for 2025 (IRS, 2026 retirement limits).

You do not file a form just for a Roth contribution (IRS Publication 590-A). But income limits apply. For 2025, the Roth phase-out ran from $150,000 to $165,000 for single filers and from $236,000 to $246,000 for joint filers (IRS, 2026 retirement limits). For 2026, it runs from $153,000 to $168,000 and from $242,000 to $252,000 (IRS, 2026 retirement limits).

Your basis is the money you put into IRAs that was already taxed, and it comes back tax-free. Form 8606 is how the IRS keeps count of it (IRS, About Form 8606). You file it for nondeductible traditional contributions, for conversions to a Roth, and for Roth withdrawals (IRS, About Form 8606).

Skipping a required Form 8606 can cost a $50 penalty, unless you show reasonable cause (IRS Publication 590-A). The bigger risk is losing track of basis and paying tax twice on the same money. Ask for every past Form 8606, even from years long ago.

Conversions bring the pro-rata rule, which is the rule that mixes taxed and untaxed money across all your traditional IRAs. Form 8606 asks for the total value of all traditional IRAs on December 31 (Form 8606 instructions). That means a year-end statement from every account, not just the one you converted.

A backdoor Roth is the informal name for a nondeductible traditional contribution followed by a conversion to a Roth. Its file needs the contribution confirmation, the conversion statement with both dates, and the 1099-R for the conversion.

A Roth payout is fully tax-free only if it is a qualified distribution. It must come after the 5-year period that starts with the first tax year you contributed to any Roth IRA (IRS Publication 590-B). It must also meet one more test, such as reaching age 59½ or becoming disabled (IRS Publication 590-B).

So the start year matters for life. Your first Roth Form 5498, or the first account statement, shows it. Keep that page in the permanent file, along with the dates of any later conversions.

Each conversion has its own clock. A payout taken within 5 years of a conversion may owe the 10% additional tax (IRS Publication 590-B). The conversion statements show which money came in when.

Money put in over the limit is an excess contribution, and it owes a 6% tax each year it stays (IRS Publication 590-A). You avoid the tax if you take it out, with its earnings, by the due date of the return, including extensions (IRS Publication 590-A). Keep the custodian’s letter that shows the date and amount removed.

A recharacterization is a switch of a contribution from one type of IRA to the other, made by the custodian. It needs the custodian’s letter too. Later Form 1099-R and Form 5498 entries will reflect it.

Older owners have their own papers. Required minimum distributions from a traditional IRA generally start at age 73 (IRS RMD FAQs). A Roth IRA has no required payout while the owner is alive (IRS RMD FAQs).

• IRS, Reporting IRA transactions: IRA contributions are reported on Form 5498; payouts of $10 or more on Form 1099-R; Form 5329 covers excess contributions, early withdrawals and missed RMDs.
• Forms 1099-R and 5498 instructions: Form 5498 for 2026 is filed and furnished by May 31, 2027; on the 2026 Form 1099-R, box 7 and the IRA/SEP/SIMPLE checkbox are renumbered 7a and 7b.
• IRS, About Form 8606: Form 8606 reports nondeductible traditional contributions, conversions to Roth IRAs and Roth IRA distributions.
• Form 8606 instructions: Form 8606 asks for the total value of all traditional IRAs on December 31.
• IRS, IRA contribution limits: The IRA limit is $7,000 ($8,000 at 50+) for 2025 and $7,500 ($8,600 at 50+) for 2026, or taxable compensation if less; spousal IRA rule.
• IRS Publication 590-A: Contributions for 2025 by April 15, 2026; no form needed for Roth contributions; $50 penalty for a missing Form 8606; 6% tax on excess contributions not withdrawn by the due date.
• IRS Publication 590-B: Qualified Roth distributions require the 5-year period and age 59½ or another event; conversions have their own 5-year period for the 10% tax.
• IRS, 2026 retirement limits: Roth IRA phase-out: $153,000 to $168,000 single and $242,000 to $252,000 joint for 2026, up from $150,000 to $165,000 and $236,000 to $246,000 for 2025; traditional IRA deduction phase-out for covered single filers $81,000 to $91,000 (2026), $79,000 to $89,000 (2025).
• IRS RMD FAQs: RMDs from traditional IRAs generally start at age 73; Roth IRAs have no RMD until after the owner’s death.