Rollovers
Form 1099-R Code G and Form 5498: How to Report a Rollover on Your Tax Return
A rollover done right owes no tax, but it still goes on your tax return. The IRS gets a copy of Form 1099-R showing money left your account, and it's up to your return to show the money landed in another one. Here's how to read the form and where each number goes.
What to remember
- Form 1099-R comes from the account the money left. Form 5498 comes from the IRA that received it.
- Code G in Box 7 means a direct rollover. With zero in Box 2a, nothing is taxable, and you still report it.
- A 60-day rollover is coded as an ordinary distribution (often code 1 or 7). The form can't know you redeposited the money, so your return has to say so.
- IRA rollovers go on Form 1040 lines 4a and 4b. Rollovers from a 401(k) or other plan go on lines 5a and 5b.
- Form 5498 arrives around the end of May, after most people have filed. You don't need it to file and you don't send it in.
Which forms will you get?
| The move | Form 1099-R? | Form 5498? |
|---|---|---|
| 401(k) direct rollover to an IRA | Yes, from the plan, code G | Yes, from the IRA custodian |
| 401(k) direct rollover to another employer's plan | Yes, from the old plan, code G | No. Form 5498 is only for IRAs. |
| Check paid to you, redeposited within 60 days | Yes, coded as a regular distribution | Yes, if it went into an IRA |
| IRA to IRA, trustee-to-trustee transfer | No | Not as a rollover. You'll still get the yearly account value. |
A transfer between two IRAs of the same type isn't a distribution, so nothing goes on your return. Our guide to rollovers vs. transfers explains the difference.
How to read Form 1099-R
The form is due to you by January 31 of the year after the money moved, or the next business day when that date falls on a weekend. Six boxes matter for a rollover.
- Box 1, Gross distribution. The total that left the account, before any tax was withheld.
- Box 2a, Taxable amount. What the payer believes is taxable. For a direct rollover of pre-tax money this should be zero.
- Box 2b. Two checkboxes. "Taxable amount not determined" is checked on nearly every traditional IRA distribution, because the custodian doesn't know your full tax picture. "Total distribution" means the account was emptied.
- Box 4, Federal income tax withheld. Zero for a direct rollover. If a plan paid you directly, expect 20% here.
- Box 5. After-tax contributions or Roth contributions included in Box 1.
- Box 7, Distribution code. One or two characters that tell the IRS what kind of payment this was. Beside it is a checkbox marked IRA/SEP/SIMPLE, checked when the money came out of one of those accounts.
What the Box 7 codes mean
| Code | What it means | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| G | Direct rollover from an employer plan to an IRA or another plan. Also used when an IRA pays directly into an employer plan. | Box 2a is zero for pre-tax money going to a traditional account. Not taxable. |
| G, with an amount in Box 2a | Direct rollover of pre-tax plan money into a Roth IRA | Taxable. This is a Roth conversion done straight from the plan. |
| H | Direct rollover from a Roth 401(k) or other designated Roth account to a Roth IRA | Not taxable |
| 1 | Early distribution, under 59½, no exception known to the payer | Taxable and subject to the 10% early withdrawal tax unless you rolled it over or qualify for an exception |
| 2 | Early distribution, exception applies. Payers use it, for one, when you left the employer in or after the year you turned 55. | Taxable, without the 10% tax |
| 7 | Normal distribution, age 59½ or older | Taxable unless rolled over |
| M | Qualified plan loan offset | Taxable unless you roll over the same amount by your tax return due date, including extensions |
Codes 1 and 7 are where people get nervous. If your old 401(k) cut a check to you and you put it into an IRA within 60 days, the 1099-R will carry code 1 or 7 and look just like a cash-out. That isn't an error. The plan had no way to know what you did next.
Where a rollover goes on Form 1040
The lines depend on where the money came from. What follows matches the 2025 Form 1040, the latest one out as of October 2026. Check the instructions for the year you're filing.
From a 401(k), 403(b), or other employer plan: lines 5a and 5b
- Enter the Box 1 amount on line 5a.
- Subtract any after-tax contributions (Box 5) and the amount you rolled over. Enter what's left on line 5b. For a full rollover of pre-tax money, that's zero.
- Check box 1, the rollover box, on line 5c.
Say you moved $180,000 by direct rollover from a 401(k) to an IRA. Line 5a shows $180,000, line 5b shows 0, and the rollover box is checked.
From an IRA: lines 4a and 4b
- Enter the total distribution on line 4a.
- If you rolled all of it over within 60 days, enter zero on line 4b. If you rolled over only part, the part you kept goes on line 4b.
- Check box 1, the rollover box, on line 4c.
If you rolled IRA money into an employer plan, or you finished a 60-day rollover in the following calendar year, the instructions ask you to attach a short statement explaining what you did.
If tax was withheld
Withholding in Box 4 goes on line 25b, so you get credit for it. It also changes the math on a 60-day rollover. If a plan withheld $20,000 from a $100,000 payout and you redeposited only the $80,000 you received, the $20,000 is a taxable distribution. It goes on line 5b, and it may owe the 10% early withdrawal tax if you're under 59½.
What Form 5498 shows, and when it arrives
Form 5498 is the receiving IRA's report to the IRS. The custodian files it and sends you a copy. You don't attach it to anything. Keep it.
- Box 2, Rollover contributions. Money that came in as a rollover: a direct rollover from an employer plan, or a 60-day rollover from a plan or another IRA. This is the number that backs up the zero on your tax return.
- Box 3. Amounts converted to a Roth IRA.
- Box 5, Fair market value. What the account was worth on December 31.
- Box 13a. A late rollover, including one made under the IRS self-certification procedure for a missed 60-day deadline.
- Boxes 15a and 15b. The value and type of certain hard-to-value assets, such as real estate or shares of a private company. A self-directed IRA is the kind of account that holds them.
The custodian has until May 31 to send it, because IRA contributions for a year can be made up to the April filing deadline. You'll get the year-end value sooner. Custodians must give you that by January 31, and most do it on your December statement.
So the form that backs up your rollover shows up weeks after most people file. That's normal. File from your rollover confirmation and statements, then check Box 2 against your return when the 5498 arrives.
What to do if a form is wrong
Code 1 or 7 on a 60-day rollover is correct, as covered above. A real error looks like one of these:
- You asked for a direct rollover and the check went to the new custodian, but the 1099-R shows code 1 or 7 with the full amount taxable.
- Box 1 is the wrong dollar amount.
- Form 5498 shows your rollover as a regular contribution in Box 1, which can look like you went far over the yearly limit.
Here's the order we'd go in:
- Call the issuer and ask for a corrected form. Have the form and your rollover confirmation in front of you.
- If no corrected 1099-R comes by the end of February, call the IRS at 800-829-1040. The IRS will contact the payer and send you Form 4852, a substitute for Form 1099-R.
- File on time. If you still don't have a corrected form, Form 4852 lets you report what really happened. Keep your proof.
- Amend if needed. If a corrected form shows up later with different numbers from what you filed, file Form 1040-X.
Don't leave a 1099-R off your return because it's wrong or because nothing was taxable. The IRS matches these forms to returns. A return that skips one can draw a letter proposing tax on the whole amount. The IRS explains the correction process in Tax Topic 154.
How this looks for a rollover into a gold IRA
The tax forms are the same. A 401(k) rolled directly into a gold IRA produces a 1099-R with code G from the plan, and the gold IRA custodian reports the cash it received in Box 2 of Form 5498. An IRA-to-IRA transfer to a gold IRA custodian produces no 1099-R. The move itself is laid out in our step-by-step gold IRA rollover guide.
Fair market value is the figure to know. The custodian has to value everything in the IRA each year, metals included, and report the December 31 figure in Box 5.
- That figure is the custodian's valuation of the coins and bars themselves on that date. It's a separate number from your purchase price, which also covered the dealer's premium, and from a buyback quote.
- It's the number your required minimum distributions are figured from. If you ever take metals out of the IRA as coins or bars instead of cash, the 1099-R reports their fair market value on the date they're distributed, and that amount is taxable income from a traditional IRA.
Ask the custodian how it sets the value. Our guides to gold IRA fees and selling gold from an IRA cover markups and buyback prices.
Common questions
What does code G mean on Form 1099-R?
A direct rollover: the money went straight from an employer plan to an IRA or another plan. With zero in Box 2a it isn't taxable. If Box 2a shows an amount, pre-tax money went into a Roth IRA and that amount is taxable.
Do I have to report a rollover if I owe no tax on it?
Yes. Put the Box 1 amount on line 4a or 5a, zero on line 4b or 5b, and check the rollover box. That's how the IRS knows the distribution wasn't income.
My 1099-R says code 1 but I rolled the money over within 60 days. Is that wrong?
No. The payer reports what it knew when it paid you. Report the rollover on your return and keep the deposit record. The receiving IRA's Form 5498 will show the rollover in Box 2.
When will I get Form 5498?
By the end of May of the following year. You don't need it to file.
We base our guides on primary sources such as the IRS, the Department of Labor, and federal regulators. Read our editorial policy. Spot an error? Tell us.
