Form 5498 is the IRS information return your IRA custodian files annually to report all activity on your IRA: contributions, rollovers, conversions, recharacterizations, and the year-end fair market value. You don't file Form 5498 — your custodian does, and they send you an informational copy by May 31 each year (per IRC §408(i)). It exists so the IRS can cross-check what you reported on your tax return against what your custodian reported about your account.

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Quick Facts

  • infoFiled by the custodian, not by you. Vanguard, Fidelity, your bank — whoever holds your IRA prepares and submits Form 5498 to the IRS.
  • infoYou receive a copy by May 31. This is AFTER the April 15 tax deadline, which is normal. You don't need Form 5498 to file your tax return.
  • check_circleReports contributions, rollovers, conversions, recharacterizations, and FMV. Each activity has its own box.
  • warningThe IRS uses it for cross-matching. If your tax return claims a $7,500 IRA deduction but your custodian reports $5,000 in box 1, expect a CP2000 notice.
  • infoMultiple Form 5498s are normal if you have multiple IRAs. One per account per year.

What Each Box Reports

The numbered boxes on Form 5498 each capture a specific category of IRA activity for the calendar year:

  • Box 1 — IRA contributions. Direct traditional or Roth IRA contributions you made for the year (excluding rollovers and conversions).
  • Box 2 — Rollover contributions. 60-day rollovers received from another retirement account.
  • Box 3 — Roth IRA conversion amount. Dollars converted from a traditional IRA into this Roth IRA during the year.
  • Box 4 — Recharacterized contributions. Now rare; recharacterization of conversions was eliminated by TCJA effective 2018.
  • Box 5 — Fair market value at year-end. December 31 balance of the account.
  • Box 7 — Type of IRA. Roth, traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE.
  • Boxes 8–10 — SEP, SIMPLE, Roth IRA contributions broken out (when applicable).
  • Boxes 11–15 — RMD information (FMV used for RMD calculation, RMD amount required, applicable to traditional IRAs of owners age 73+).

Why Form 5498 Arrives After Tax Day

The May 31 deadline exists because IRA contributions for a given tax year can be made any time up to April 15 of the following year (per IRC §219(f)(3)). A custodian can't finalize the year's totals until the contribution window closes — so the form ships the month after.

This is fine. You don't need Form 5498 to prepare your tax return. The numbers you put on Schedule 1 (traditional IRA deduction), Form 8606 (nondeductible contributions and conversions), and your tax return generally come from your own records of what you contributed and converted. Form 5498 is the IRS's verification document, not yours.

What to Do When You Receive It

Three actions:

  1. Compare to your records. Box 1 + Box 10 (Roth) should match your aggregate IRA contributions for the year. Box 3 should match what you reported on Form 8606 for conversions.
  2. Save it with your tax records for at least 7 years. The IRS may need to verify your basis decades later (especially for nondeductible traditional IRA contributions and Roth basis on early withdrawals).
  3. If anything looks wrong, contact your custodian. Custodian can issue a corrected Form 5498. Errors in the FMV box matter most for owners subject to RMDs since the December 31 FMV drives the next year's RMD calculation.

Related forms: Form 5498-SA (HSA contributions), Form 5498-ESA (Coverdell ESA contributions). Same structure, different account types.