Reporting — Articles

Surprise! IRS Sneaks in New Code for Reporting IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)

Buried within the newly released 2025 Form 1099-R instructions is a reporting change you may have missed, but one that is important to know about if you work with IRAs.

IRAAscensusApril 17, 2025Traditional IRA, Required Minimum Distributions, IRS, Regulations, Reporting

Making Sense of POAs

Power of attorney (POA) legal arrangements are becoming a prevalent tool that retirees use to manage their finances—including their IRA assets. Under such an arrangement, an individual—including an IRA owner—may grant to another the legal authority to act on his behalf in financial or other matters. To reduce liability, financial organizations should create a process for reviewing, accepting, and responding to a POA.

IRAAscensusApril 17, 2025Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Regulations, Reporting

IRA Contribution Reporting Requirements

As you may have already guessed, this is typically the busiest time of the year for many financial institutions. During the next few months, your staff may be juggling different tasks—including preparing the 2024 IRA reporting forms and answering a higher amount of calls from clients.

expertAscensusMarch 20, 2025Roth IRA, IRA, SEP Plan, SIMPLE IRA Plan, Reporting, IRS

Roth IRA Beneficiary Options and Reporting Requirements

Although IRAs are meant to provide individuals with a source of income during retirement, many clients may want to incorporate their IRAs into their overall estate planning. In such cases, while making clear that you are not providing tax or legal advice, you may find yourself discussing IRA beneficiary options with clients. Beneficiary options—especially for Roth IRAs—can be confusing.

IRAAscensusJanuary 16, 2025Roth IRA, Beneficiary, IRA, Traditional IRA, Reporting

Removing Excess IRA Contributions

Here is a refresher for IRA excess contributions and how to remove them.

IRAAscensusAugust 15, 2024Excess Contribution, IRA, IRS, Reporting, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA

Now that Cycle 3 is Over, What's Next?

The IRS requires that all qualified retirement plans be established and supported by a formal written document that complies with the Internal Revenue Code. Employers may choose to use a pre-approved document offered by a document sponsor, like Ascensus.

Choosing Service Requirements for 401(k) Plan Eligibility Purposes

Employers that establish 401(k) or similar qualified retirement plans often have definite ideas on how, and when, employees become eligible to participate. Choosing eligibility requirements is one of many important decisions that employers must make when they establish such plans.

IRS Reminds Businesses of SECURE 2.0 Impacts on Form W-2

The IRS is reminding businesses who sponsor a retirement plan that certain provisions of SECURE 2.0 that became effective in 2023 may impact their Form W-2 reporting requirements.

Reduce Form 5498 Reporting Errors with this Simple Step

As you’re preparing to send your Form 5498 files to your vendor for printing, you’ve probably caught some reporting errors as you audit the files. But mistakes happen. And those errors that inevitably slip through are likely those that keep you up at night. It’s not fun getting a phone call or visits from upset clients after they received an incorrect Form 5498.

IRAAscensusApril 18, 2024IRA, Business Insights, Reporting, Regulations, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Form 5498

Is Your Organization on Track to Meet These IRA, HSA, and Coverdell ESA Deadlines?

It's a brand-new year filled with fresh reporting deadlines, and perhaps a good time to take note on whether your financial organization is on track to meet these obligations—or to refresh your memory on when specific deadlines occur. First quarter is always a busy reporting season.

IRA Reporting for the Year of Death

January is rapidly approaching and with it comes the deadline for fair market value (FMV) statements. One of the most challenging IRA reporting requirements is FMV statement reporting for the IRA owner’s year of death.

Common Compliance Testing Questions

If you’re new to qualified retirement plans, or simply need a refresher on these common terms in the retirement plan industry, we’ve got you covered.

Understanding the Details of IRA Rollover Restrictions

IRA-to-IRA rollovers are subject to the “one-per-12-month” restriction. Meaning that individuals may roll over only one IRA distribution during a 12-month period.

expert, IRAAscensusNovember 16, 2023Rollover, IRA, Business Insights, Reporting, Roth IRA, Traditional IRA

Q is for Qualified Coverdell ESA Distributions: Helping Your Clients Pay for Education Expenses

If it’s been a while since you’ve worked with Coverdell ESAs, here’s a refresher on the rules and your responsibilities when processing ESA distributions.

ESAAscensusOctober 19, 2023Coverdell ESAs, Coverdell ESA, Regulations, Reporting

IRA Compliance — Are You Prepared for an IRS Audit?

Compliance is a critical concern for financial organizations that serve as IRA trustees, custodians, and issuers—and for good reason. IRS penalties for noncompliance and violation of IRA rules can be costly. If the IRS finds compliance issues with your IRA program, it could lead to further scrutiny of your organization.

IRAAscensusSeptember 21, 2023Regulations, IRS, IRA, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Reporting, Business Insights, Compliance & Operations

Deadline Approaches for 2022 IRA Recharacterizations and Excess Contribution Removals

The deadline for IRA owners to recharacterize or remove their 2022 excess contributions is fast approaching. Typically, the federal tax return extension deadline is October 15. But this year that date falls on a Sunday, so the deadline has been moved to October 16, 2023.

expert, IRAAscensusSeptember 21, 2023IRS, IRA, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Reporting, Recharacterization, Excess Contribution

What You’ll Need Before Opening an HSA

Employers are now preparing for benefits enrollment season, and chances are likely that you’ll soon experience an uptick in potential clients who want to set up new health savings accounts (HSAs) for next year.

HSAAscensusAugust 17, 2023Compliance & Operations, HSA, Reporting

Now is the Perfect Time to Review Your Record Retention Procedures

Summer is typically a slower part of the year for most financial organizations, so organizations often use this “downtime” to review their operational policies and procedures. During this time of the year, our consultants on the Ascensus 800 Consulting Lines receive frequent calls about IRA record retention—including “How long should our financial organization keep IRA documents?”