Where Do I Put a 1099-R on My Tax Return? Lines 4a, 5a, and 25b

Numbers from a Form 1099-R go on one of two pairs of lines on your Form 1040. If the distribution came from an IRA, the gross amount in Box 1 goes on line 4a and the taxable amount in Box 2a goes on line 4b. If it came from a pension, annuity, 401(k), 403(b), or similar employer plan, Box 1 goes on line 5a and Box 2a goes on line 5b. Any federal income tax withheld in Box 4 gets added to your other withholding on line 25b. That’s where a 1099-R goes on your tax return; the rest of this article covers the boxes that decide those numbers, the notations the IRS expects next to certain lines, and the extra forms some situations require.

Read These Boxes First

Five boxes on the 1099-R do the work.

Box 1, Gross Distribution: the total paid out before withholding. This is your “a” line number.
Box 2a, Taxable Amount: the portion that counts as taxable income. Often matches Box 1. This is your “b” line number.
Box 2b, Taxable Amount Not Determined: a checkbox. If it’s marked, the payer didn’t calculate the taxable portion and you have to figure it yourself.
Box 4, Federal Income Tax Withheld: money already sent to the IRS on your behalf. Goes on line 25b.
Box 7, Distribution Code: a one- or two-character code that tells the IRS why the distribution happened and whether a penalty applies.¹

Box 7 is the one to read carefully. Code 1 flags an early distribution with no known exception and generally triggers the 10% additional tax. Code 7 is a normal distribution at or after age 59½. Code G is a direct rollover and isn’t taxable. Code 4 is a distribution to a beneficiary after death. Code 3 is a disability distribution. Code Q is a qualified Roth distribution. Codes T and J appear on non-qualified Roth distributions.¹

IRA Distributions on Lines 4a and 4b

Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs all report on lines 4a and 4b. Put Box 1 on 4a and Box 2a on 4b. If the whole distribution is taxable, both lines show the same amount. If none of it is taxable, 4a shows the gross figure and 4b shows zero.

Always fill in line 4a when you receive a 1099-R for an IRA, even if 4b is zero. The IRS matches every 1099-R filed against your return, and a blank “a” line where a 1099-R exists will generate a notice.

Roth IRA distributions use the same lines but split into two tracks. A qualified Roth distribution (Code Q) is entirely tax-free: the account has been open at least five years and the distribution is taken after age 59½, on account of disability, or after death. Put the full amount on 4a and zero on 4b. A non-qualified Roth distribution (often Code T or J) follows an ordering rule: your original contributions come out first and are always tax-free, then converted amounts, then earnings. Only earnings pulled out before the five-year and age requirements are met are taxable, and that taxable portion is what goes on 4b.

Pensions, Annuities, and Employer Plans on Lines 5a and 5b

Distributions from an employer pension, 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b), or a commercial annuity report on lines 5a and 5b. Box 1 goes on 5a, Box 2a goes on 5b. The same “always fill in the ‘a’ line” rule applies.

Federal Withholding on Line 25b

Box 4 of the 1099-R is federal income tax already withheld. Add it to any other federal withholding you have and report the total on line 25b of Form 1040. That amount reduces your tax owed or increases your refund, so leaving it off costs you money.

Withholding rules differ by account type. Eligible rollover distributions from employer plans like 401(k)s carry a mandatory 20% withholding unless the money moves directly to another plan or IRA in a trustee-to-trustee transfer.² IRA distributions default to 10% withholding but you can opt out. Whatever the payer withheld shows up in Box 4 either way.

Rollovers on the Same Lines

A rollover moves retirement funds from one account to another without tax. It still shows up on a 1099-R and still gets reported on your 1040.

For a direct rollover (Code G in Box 7), put the Box 1 amount on line 4a or 5a depending on the source, enter zero on 4b or 5b, and write “Rollover” next to the taxable line.¹

For an indirect rollover, the funds pass through your hands and you have 60 days to redeposit them in another eligible account. If you meet the deadline, report it the same way: gross on the “a” line, zero on the “b” line, “Rollover” written next to it.³ Miss the 60 days and the whole distribution becomes taxable, and the 10% penalty may apply if you’re under 59½. IRA-to-IRA indirect rollovers are also capped at one per 12-month period across all your IRAs. Direct trustee-to-trustee transfers don’t count against that limit.

Employer plans that pay you directly must withhold 20%. To roll over the entire original balance, you have to replace that 20% from other funds when you make the deposit within the 60-day window. Anything you don’t roll over becomes taxable.²

Qualified Charitable Distributions

If you’re 70½ or older and had your IRA custodian send up to $111,000 directly to a qualifying charity, the transfer isn’t taxable income.⁴ Report the full distribution on line 4a, enter only the taxable portion on 4b (zero if the entire distribution went to charity), and write “QCD” next to line 4b. If the money passed through your account first, it doesn’t qualify.

Public Safety Officer Health Insurance Exclusion

Retired public safety officers can exclude up to $3,000 per year of pension distributions used to pay health or long-term care insurance premiums.⁵ Put the full distribution on line 5a and the reduced taxable amount on line 5b, then check the “PSO” box on line 5c. The distribution has to come from an eligible government retirement plan.

Early Withdrawal Penalty: Form 5329 to Schedule 2

If you’re under 59½, the taxable portion of most distributions carries an extra 10% tax. Code 1 in Box 7 is the marker.⁶ You calculate the penalty on Form 5329, and the result flows to Schedule 2, line 8, of Form 1040.⁷

If Box 7 already shows an exception code, such as Code 2 or Code 3, you may not need Form 5329 at all. But when Box 7 shows Code 1 and you think an exception applies, Form 5329 is where you claim it. Skip the form and the IRS assumes the full penalty applies.⁸

Common exceptions include death, disability, substantially equal periodic payments, separation from service after age 55 for employer plans (age 50 for qualified public safety employees), unreimbursed medical expenses above 7.5% of AGI, higher education costs (IRAs only), up to $10,000 for a first-time home purchase (IRAs only), and distributions taken because of an IRS levy.⁸ Each has an exception code you enter in Part I of Form 5329.⁹ The exception waives the 10% penalty only. The distribution itself still counts as taxable income on line 4b or 5b.

After-Tax Money in the Account

If part of your account was funded with money you already paid tax on, part of every distribution comes back tax-free. You still have to calculate the split correctly.

For traditional IRAs with nondeductible contributions, file Form 8606 with your return. The form uses your total basis divided by the combined balance of all your traditional IRAs to figure the tax-free percentage. All your traditional IRAs are treated as one pool, so you can’t isolate a distribution to your “nondeductible IRA.” The penalty for failing to file Form 8606 when required is $50.¹⁰

For employer pensions and annuities with after-tax contributions, use the Simplified Method to figure the tax-free portion of each payment. The method divides your after-tax investment in the contract by an anticipated number of monthly payments based on your age when payments began.¹¹ The tax-free amount per payment stays constant. Once you’ve recovered your full after-tax investment, every later payment is fully taxable. The taxable portion each year is what goes on line 5b.

If the 1099-R Is Missing or Wrong

Payers must mail Form 1099-R by January 31.¹² If yours doesn’t arrive or has errors, ask the plan administrator for a corrected form first. If you still don’t have it by the end of February, call the IRS at 800-829-1040. The IRS will reach out to the payer and send you Form 4852 to use as a substitute.¹³

If the filing deadline is close and the form still hasn’t come, file with Form 4852 using your best estimates and describe on line 10 what you did to try to get the original. If a 1099-R shows up later with different numbers, file Form 1040-X to amend.

State Information on the Form

Boxes 14 through 19 of the 1099-R carry state and local information. Box 14 is state income tax withheld, Box 15 lists the state abbreviation and the payer’s state ID, and Boxes 16 through 19 cover state distribution amounts and local tax details.¹⁴ You’ll use these figures on your state return. States handle retirement income differently from the federal treatment, so don’t assume the federal taxable amount is the same at the state level.

1
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 – Section: Box 7. Distribution Code(s)
2
Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Resource Guide – Plan Participants – General Distribution Rules – Section: Rollovers from Your 401(k) Plan
3
Internal Revenue Service. Rollovers of Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions
4
Congress.gov. Qualified Charitable Distributions from Individual Retirement Accounts
5
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 575 – Pension and Annuity Income
6
Internal Revenue Service. Hardships, Early Withdrawals and Loans
7
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 558, Additional Tax on Early Distributions from Retirement Plans Other Than IRAs
8
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions
9
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 5329
10
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 8606
11
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 575 – Pension and Annuity Income
12
Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns
13
Internal Revenue Service. Form 4852 Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, or Form 1099-R
14
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 – Section: Boxes 14-19 State and Local Information