Am I considered covered by an employer sponsored retirement plan for the year if I do not participate in the plan or if I did not work long enough to be vested?
The answer to this question depends on your type of retirement plan. If your employer's plan has a separate account for each employee and any amount was contributed or allocated by you or your employer to your account, you are considered covered. This is called a defined contribution plan. With this type of plan, it does not matter if you have worked long enough to be vested.
In the other type of plan, the plan employer must make enough contributions (together with earnings) to provide the retirement benefit promised in the retirement plan. This is called a defined benefit plan. In this type of plan, if you meet the minimum age and years of service requirements to participate in your employer's plan, you are considered covered even if you decline coverage. It does not matter if you are vested for this type of plan, either.
The Form W-2 you receive from your employer has a box used to indicate whether you were covered for the year. The "Pension Plan" box should have a mark in it if you were covered.
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Do I report my nondeductible Roth IRA contributions on Form 8606?
There are no forms to report a Roth contribution. The financial institution, which is the trustee of your Roth IRA, will send you information on the amount in your Roth IRA. They will also send the information to the Internal Revenue Service. Use Form 8606 (PDF), Nondeductible IRAs and Coverdell ESAs, if you made a nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA; converted from a traditional IRA, a SEP, or Simple IRA to a Roth IRA, received a distribution from a traditional IRA, a SEP, or a Simple IRA and made nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA, or received a distribution from a Roth or Education IRA.
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If I am covered by a employer sponsored retirement plan for part of the year, but work the rest of the year for an employer without a retirement plan, how much of my earnings may I deduct for a traditional IRA?
The amount you can deduct will be determined by your modified Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) and filing status. For specific information refer to Publication 590 (PDF), Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).
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