2013 Form 5498, should be 2012

[SumDay]

TODAY, I received a SEP IRA Contribution Form 5498 from Vanguard, for the 2013 tax year. "Box 1 shows traditional IRA contributions for 2013 you made in 2013 and through April 15, 2014."

Problem is, even though this contribution was made 4/2/2013, it was clearly marked as being for the 2012 tax year. I deducted said Box 1 amount from our 2012 AGI on line 28.

Does this have to be "recategorized" or something? Seems like I've heard that term used before for instances like this. Can Vanguard do this? Do I have to file an amended return with the IRS? Does it even matter?

And, as a rhetorical question, even if this were a 2013 contribution, why am I just getting the 5498 in late May?

 

[gauss]

I have had no shortage of instances where Vanguard miscodes transactions. It is as if they are in a habit of doing it a certain way and if something different comes in, they just code it as they normally do without actually reading the form. In theory they should have a copy of the form that you submitted with the check. It would be even better if you had your own copy to refer to. Basically call them and lobby them to correct the transaction. If you are successful they will add a negative transaction with the original coding and then add an additional transaction with the proper/new coding.

The lesson from all this that everyone needs to learn is that you really do need to review the 5498's and know what you are expecting them to say.

In my case, I would have had problems years from now when withdrawing Rollover Roth Conversions before the age of 59 1/2. Fortunately I realized this when I started to fill out mock tax forms for the future and identified what needed to be in place.

You will likely have to start with the first level customer rep and then get escalated to a "specialist" of some sort who hopefully will go to bat for you.

I found it useful to speak to them on the telephone so that you can ensure that they understand why the correction is needed and that it was their fault. Be upbeat, partner with them, but be persistent in explaining to them to get them to understand why it is a problem and why you need their help.

I often included cover letters now along with the transaction forms that restates the type of transaction and how I will expect it to be coded. Less problems experienced when I started doing this.

-gauss

 

[gauss]

Does this have to be "recategorized" or something? Seems like I've heard that term used before for instances like this. Can Vanguard do this? Do I have to file an amended return with the IRS? Does it even matter?

And, as a rhetorical question, even if this were a 2013 contribution, why am I just getting the 5498 in late May?

In theory you could file an amended return if you think that would remedy the problem, but I would not share that strategy when talking with vanguard. If you and or they have access to the original documentation on how the transaction is to be coded they should be able to correct it.

For 2013 transactions, the 5498's go out this time of year. They wait until Apr 15 ie the cutoff for the prior years IRA contributions.

This is one of the reasons why I always do an extension and don't file until after I receive my 5498s. I want to be confident that everything is in good order before I file because I don't want to have to think about it again later unless I made a mistake.

-gauss