Form 5498 is an IRA record, not a tax bill. Your account provider files it with the IRS to report contributions, certain transfers of retirement money, account value and other specified information. It does not list every investment trade or withdrawal. You keep your copy with your records; you do not attach it to your tax return. The useful question is not just “What is the total?” but “Which account, which tax year and which kind of transaction does this box describe?”

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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.
  • infoDifferent information can arrive at different times. Account-value statements generally arrive around the end of January; contribution information follows around the end of May. Calendar adjustments and relief can change deadlines.
  • check_circleRegular Roth contributions go in box 10. Box 1 is not the regular Roth contribution box; Roth SEP/SIMPLE contributions use separate boxes.
  • warningA reported contribution is not proof of a deduction. Compare the form with your own records and the applicable eligibility rules.
  • infoKeep records from every provider. One account’s form does not show your complete IRA history or remaining withdrawal basis.

What the Main Boxes Actually Tell You

The 2026 Form 5498 instructions separate contribution types, account value and other information. These are the main boxes a reader is likely to check, not every special reporting case:

  • Box 1 — regular Traditional IRA contributions. This can include nondeductible contributions; it is not a statement that you may deduct the amount.
  • Box 10 — personal Roth IRA contributions. It includes regular Roth contributions and eligible 529-to-Roth transfers designated for the year, but not Roth SEP/SIMPLE contributions.
  • Box 2 — reportable rollovers received. This includes eligible direct employer-plan rollovers as well as eligible 60-day rollovers. An ordinary same-type trustee-to-trustee IRA transfer is not reported here.
  • Box 3 — Traditional-to-Roth IRA conversions received. An employer-plan rollover to a Roth IRA belongs in box 2 instead; not every movement into a Roth is a box-3 conversion.
  • Box 4 — recharacterized contributions received. Contribution recharacterizations remain possible; Roth conversions made in 2018 or later cannot be recharacterized.
  • Box 5 — fair market value. Generally the year-end account value. Boxes 15a and 15b separately identify the value and type of specified assets, such as assets without a readily available market value.
  • Box 7 and boxes 8–9 — account type and employer-plan IRA contributions. Boxes 8 and 9 report SEP and SIMPLE contributions, including the applicable Roth versions; follow the instructions for the account type.
  • Boxes 11 and 12a–12b — RMD information. These identify an RMD requirement and, when provided, its date and amount. They are not a complete beneficiary-withdrawal checklist.
  • Boxes 13a–13c — specified postponed or late contributions. These are not RMD fields or the ordinary place for a timely prior-year contribution.
  • Boxes 14a–14b — specified repayments. These cover eligible repayment categories, not just disaster repayments.

A Roth IRA owner has no lifetime RMDs. Beneficiaries have separate rules, and the instructions do not currently require the same RMD notification reporting for deceased participants’ IRAs. Do not infer “nothing due” from an unchecked box 11. See inherited Roth IRA rules.

Why Statements Can Arrive Before and After Tax Day

Account-value and applicable RMD information generally must be furnished around the end of January. Contribution information generally follows around the end of May, allowing time to include regular IRA deposits made by the prior year’s contribution deadline. Weekends, holidays and applicable relief can move those dates; SIMPLE IRAs also have special account-activity statement requirements.

If the provider already sent the required account-value statement and there were no reportable contributions, rollovers, conversions or recharacterizations, it may not need to send you a second, zero-contribution statement in May. Its IRS filing obligations are separate.

Do not wait for Form 5498 solely to file your return. Use your contribution and transaction records. An ordinary IRA contribution deadline is generally the return due date without extensions, subject to applicable relief. A tax-filing extension does not automatically give you more time to make a regular IRA contribution. See Publication 590-A.

What to Do When You Receive It

Three actions:

  1. Match the account, tax year and transaction. Check each provider’s form separately, then reconcile your records across accounts. A regular contribution made early in a new calendar year may be designated for the prior tax year. A conversion has its own transaction year. Do not simply add every box or treat one form as a lifetime contribution ledger.
  2. Keep the records that establish your basis. Forms 5498, Forms 8606, contribution confirmations, conversion records and withdrawal records help establish what should not be taxed again. The Form 8606 recordkeeping instructions say to keep the relevant records until all distributions are made; an arbitrary seven-year cutoff can be too short.
  3. Ask the provider to correct an error. It files a corrected Form 5498; there is no separate “Form 5498-C” correction form. Retain both the original and corrected copies. A mismatch deserves review, but it does not guarantee a particular IRS notice.

This page explains the IRA Form 5498. Other account types have their own reporting rules; for the children’s savings program, use our separate Trump Accounts guide.