What is Form 1099-R?

Form 1099-R is a tax form from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for reporting distributions from annuities, profit-sharing plans, retirement plans, IRAs, insurance contracts, or pensions. It deals specifically with passive income and retirement plans.

It is one of the forms in the 1099 series known as information returns. These forms are used to report various types of income that a person may receive, other than salaries, such as independent contractor income, interest and dividends, government payment, and many more.

According to the IRS, an individual who makes any of the following distributions over $10 requires a 1099-R form:

• Profit-sharing or retirement plans
• Any individual retirement account (IRA)
• Annuities, pensions, insurance contracts, or survivor income benefit plans
• Permanent and total disability payments under life insurance contracts
• Charitable gift annuities

On the other hand, an individual who receives a 1099-R in error should immediately contact the plan custodian to rectify the situation and avoid filing an incorrect tax return.

As with other IRS forms, this form should also include the payer's name, address, telephone number, and taxpayer identification number. It should also have the recipient's name, address, and taxpayer identification number.

Some of the other items included on the form are the gross distribution paid during the tax year, the amount of taxable distribution, the federal income tax withheld at source, any contributions made to the investment, or premiums paid and a code representing the type of distributions made to the plan holder. The form is provided by the plan issuer.

Click this link to download a copy of Form 1099-R.