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Pub. 575, Pension and Annuity Income 2005 Tax Year

Publication 575 - Introductory Material


What's New

Hurricane tax relief. Special rules apply to the use of retirement funds by qualified individuals who suffered an economic loss as a result of Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma. See Hurricane-Related Relief, for information on these special rules.

Reminder

Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.

Introduction

This publication discusses the tax treatment of distributions you receive from pension and annuity plans and also shows you how to report the income on your federal income tax return. How these distributions are taxed depends on whether they are periodic payments (amounts received as an annuity) that are paid at regular intervals over several years or nonperiodic payments (amounts not received as an annuity).

What is covered in this publication?   Publication 575 contains information that you need to understand the following topics.
  • How to figure the tax-free part of periodic payments under a pension or annuity plan, including using a simple worksheet for payments under a qualified plan.

  • How to figure the tax-free part of nonperiodic payments from qualified and nonqualified plans, and how to use the optional methods to figure the tax on lump-sum distributions from pension, stock bonus, and profit-sharing plans.

  • How to roll over certain distributions from a retirement plan into another retirement plan or IRA.

  • How to report disability payments, and how beneficiaries and survivors of employees and retirees must report benefits paid to them.

  • How to report railroad retirement benefits.

  • How to report Railroad Retirement benefits received.

  • When additional taxes on certain distributions may apply (including the tax on early distributions and the tax on excess accumulation).

Tip
For additional information on how to report pension or annuity payments on your federal income tax return, be sure to review the instructions on the back of Copies B and C of the Form 1099-R that you received and the instructions for Form 1040, lines 16a and 16b (Form 1040A, lines 12a and 12b).

Caution
A “corrected” Form 1099-R replaces the corresponding original Form 1099-R. Make sure you use the amounts shown on the corrected 1099-R when reporting information on your tax return.

What is not covered in this publication?   The following topics are not discussed in this publication.

The General Rule.   This is the method generally used to determine the tax treatment of pension and annuity income from nonqualified plans (including commercial annuities). For a qualified plan, you generally cannot use the General Rule unless your annuity starting date is before November 19, 1996. Although this publication will help you determine whether you can use the General Rule, it will not help you use it to determine the tax treatment of your pension or annuity income. For more information on the General Rule, see Publication 939, General Rule for Pensions and Annuities.

Individual retirement arrangements (IRAs).   Information on the tax treatment of amounts you receive from an IRA is in Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).

Civil service retirement benefits.   If you are retired from the federal government (either regular or disability retirement) or are the survivor or beneficiary of a federal employee or retiree who died, get Publication 721, Tax Guide to U.S. Civil Service Retirement Benefits. Publication 721 covers the tax treatment of federal retirement benefits, primarily those paid under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). It also covers benefits paid from the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).

Social security and equivalent tier 1 railroad retirement benefits.   For information about the tax treatment of these benefits, see Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits. However, this publication (575) covers the tax treatment of nonequivalent tier 1 railroad retirement benefits, tier 2 benefits, vested dual benefits, and supplemental annuity benefits paid by the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board.

Tax-sheltered annuity plans (403(b) plans).   If you work for a public school or certain tax-exempt organizations, you may be eligible to participate in a 403(b) retirement plan offered by your employer. Although this publication covers the treatment of benefits under 403(b) plans, it does not cover other tax provisions that apply to these plans. For more information on 403(b) plans, see Publication 571, Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans (403(b) Plans).

Comments and suggestions.   We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions.

  You can write to us at the following address:


Internal Revenue Service
Individual Forms and Publications Branch
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:I
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6406
Washington, DC 20224

  We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number, including the area code, in your correspondence.

  You can email us at *[email protected]. (The asterisk must be included in the address.) Please put “Publications Comment” on the subject line. Although we cannot respond individually to each email, we do appreciate your feedback and will consider your comments as we revise our tax products.

Tax questions.   If you have a tax question, visit www.irs.gov or call 1-800-829-1040. We cannot answer tax questions at either of the addresses listed above.

Ordering forms and publications.   Visit www.irs.gov/formspubs to download forms and publications, call 1-800-829-3676, or write to the National Distribution Center at the address shown under How To Get Tax Help in the back of this publication.

Useful Items - You may want to see:

Publication

  • 524 Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled

  • 525 Taxable and Nontaxable Income

  • 560 Retirement Plans for Small Business (SEP, SIMPLE, and Qualified Plans)

  • 571 Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans (403(b) Plans)

  • 590 Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)

  • 721 Tax Guide to U.S. Civil Service Retirement Benefits

  • 915 Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits

  • 939 General Rule for Pensions and Annuities

  • 4492 Information for Taxpayers Affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma

Form (and Instructions)

  • W-4P
    Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments

  • 1099-R
    Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc.

  • 4972
    Tax on Lump-Sum Distributions

  • 5329
    Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts

See How To Get Tax Help near the end of this publication for information about getting publications and forms.

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