SEP IRA Form 5498: Box 8, Contributions, and Corrections

Form 5498 for a SEP IRA is the annual information return your IRA custodian files with the IRS and sends to you, reporting contributions, rollovers, required minimum distribution status, and the account’s year-end value. For a SEP, the number that matters most is in Box 8: total employer contributions deposited during the calendar year. That figure is what you use to verify the deduction you already claimed on your return.

What the Custodian Reports and When It Arrives

Your bank or brokerage generates a Form 5498 for every IRA it holds, including SEP, traditional, and Roth accounts. The custodian files with the IRS and sends you a copy. You do not attach it to your tax return. It exists so that both you and the IRS have a matching record of what went into the account.

The deadline for custodians to issue Form 5498 is May 31 of the year following the reporting period. That’s well past April 15, so most SEP owners file their taxes before the form shows up. This is normal, not a problem. Claim your deduction from your own records and deposit receipts, and treat the form as after-the-fact confirmation when it lands.

Box 8: SEP Contributions

Box 8 is the centerpiece of the form for a SEP owner. It shows all employer contributions deposited into the SEP during the calendar year, including contributions made in that year for the prior tax year, but not contributions made the following year for the reporting year.¹ Self-employed contributions you make to your own account go here, and so do any designated Roth SEP contributions.

The timing is what trips people up. SEP contributions can be made up to the filing deadline including extensions, so a contribution for tax year 2025 that you deposit in September 2026 on extension will appear on the 2026 Form 5498, not the 2025 form.² You might claim the deduction on your 2025 return and not receive the matching Form 5498 until mid-2027. Keep your deposit confirmations so you can prove the tax-year designation.

Other Boxes a SEP Owner Should Know

Box 5: Fair Market Value

Box 5 shows the total fair market value of your SEP as of December 31 of the reporting year, including contributions, gains, and losses.² You won’t use it in preparing your current return, but the IRS and your custodian rely on it to calculate required minimum distributions once you reach the applicable age.

Box 2: Rollover Contributions

Box 2 reports rollovers received by the IRA during the year, such as funds transferred from a former employer’s 401(k) or another IRA.² Rollovers are not deductible. The custodian still reports them so the IRS can track the movement of tax-advantaged money and confirm you aren’t claiming a deduction on transferred funds.

Box 1: Traditional IRA Contributions

Box 1 shows traditional IRA contributions that are not rollovers and not SEP or SIMPLE contributions. For a SEP owner, this box is usually blank or zero, because employer contributions belong in Box 8.² Personal traditional IRA contributions to a separate account would appear in Box 1 on that account’s own Form 5498.

Box 11: RMD Indicator

Box 11 is a checkbox the custodian marks if you’re required to take a required minimum distribution for the following year. RMDs from a SEP generally begin the year you turn 73.³ The custodian checks the box for the year you reach that age and every year after.¹ If you see it checked and weren’t expecting it, verify whether you’ve hit the RMD threshold.

Roth SEP Contributions Also Land in Box 8

Since 2023, employers can designate SEP contributions as Roth under a provision added by SECURE 2.0. Roth SEP contributions still appear in Box 8 alongside traditional SEP contributions.¹

The tax treatment is different, though. The IRS treats a Roth SEP contribution as if it were deposited into a traditional IRA and immediately converted to a Roth. The contribution amount counts as taxable income for the year the money hits the account, and you’ll get a Form 1099-R reporting the conversion, with the amount in Box 1 and Box 2a and a distribution code marking it as a conversion. If you elected Roth SEP contributions and were surprised by the 1099-R at tax time, this is why. The deadline rules still apply on the contribution side, so a Roth SEP contribution for 2025 deposited in 2026 becomes taxable income in 2026, not 2025.

Reconciling Box 8 With Your Deduction

Because Form 5498 arrives after you file, work from your own records first. Self-employed individuals deduct their own SEP contributions on Schedule 1 of Form 1040, on the line for self-employed SEP, SIMPLE, and qualified plans.⁴ That’s an above-the-line deduction, so it reduces adjusted gross income whether or not you itemize. If the business has employees, contributions made on their behalf are deducted as a business expense on Schedule C, while your own contribution stays on Schedule 1.

When Form 5498 arrives, compare Box 8 to what you claimed. If they match, file it with your tax records. If they don’t, act on it quickly, because the IRS cross-references your deduction against the custodian’s report and a mismatch can generate a notice.

What to Do If Form 5498 Is Wrong

Custodian errors on Form 5498 are common enough that the IRS has flagged them as an ongoing issue.⁵ Frequent mistakes include reporting a contribution in the wrong box, attributing it to the wrong tax year, or showing the wrong dollar amount.

If you spot a discrepancy, contact your custodian and ask for a corrected Form 5498. Keep your original deposit receipts and any written designation of the tax year the contribution applies to. If the custodian booked a prior-year contribution as a current-year contribution, the corrected form should reflect the proper allocation. Don’t amend your return until the custodian confirms the corrected figure.

Penalties for Overclaiming or Overcontributing

Claiming a larger SEP deduction than you actually contributed, or contributing more than the legal limit, exposes you to an accuracy-related penalty of 20% of the underpaid tax attributable to the error.⁶ For individuals, the penalty applies when the understatement exceeds the greater of 10% of the tax that should have been shown on the return or $5,000. Excess contributions to a SEP also face a separate 6% excise tax for each year the excess stays in the account. Running the Publication 560 worksheet before contributing and matching your figure to Box 8 when the form arrives is the simplest way to head off both.⁷

1
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 (2025)
2
Internal Revenue Service. Form 5498 – IRA Contribution Information
3
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs
4
Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employed Individuals – Calculating Your Own Retirement Plan Contribution and Deduction
5
Internal Revenue Service. Form 5498 – Errors by IRA Trustees, Issuers and Custodians May Cause Tax Trouble
6
Internal Revenue Service. Accuracy-Related Penalty
7
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 560 – Retirement Plans for Small Business