1099 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
Accessing your 1099
Log into principal.com and select My Profile. Under My Documents you will find a section called Tax Documents. That’s where you’ll find documents like your Form 1099.
Did you know you can receive your tax forms electronically?
A Form 1099-R is required to be sent to you by January 31 of the year following your distribution. You should receive your Form 1099-R by mid-February. Please let us know if you do not receive the form by then. If you have recently moved or changed addresses, we can request a duplicate Form 1099-R for you after January 31, if necessary.
1099 basics
Form 1099 is a series of forms described by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as “information returns”, used to report income other than a regular salary.
The document you received is a copy of a form a Principal Financial Group® affiliated entity submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
We submitted this form because you either:
- Received a distribution from a retirement plan or account with service by Principal (either an individual or employer-sponsored plan) in the last tax year. You may have received this distribution as cash, a direct rollover, or an unpaid loan balance or stock certificate as a result of a benefit event (such as changing jobs, retiring, etc.).
- Received a distribution from a life insurance policy or annuity with service by Principal in the last tax year. You may have received this distribution as cash or an unpaid loan balance or loan interest.
You can refer to the back of the Form 1099-R to verify which type of distribution you received. You’ll also find the commonly used distribution codes in Box 7.
Here’s what some of the common distribution codes mean:
- G: Indicates the distribution was a direct rollover from one retirement plan to another. The IRS does not consider this a taxable event.
- 1: Indicates an early distribution penalty tax may apply to a distribution you took from your retirement account, insurance policy or annuity.
- 6: Indicates a Section 1035 tax-free exchange
- 7: Indicates a distribution was taken from your retirement plan, life insurance policy or annuity.
Find more information on your Form 1099-R in the Instructions to the Forms 1099-R and 5498 the IRS publishes each year at IRS.gov.
- Form 1099-R: When you withdraw money from your individual retirement account (IRA), that money is generally taxable. The Form 1099-R reports your total withdraws for the year. It may also report any distributions (money taken out) from pensions, other retirement plans, and insurance contracts.
- Form 1099-INT: You'll receive this form if someone pays you interest (think a bank or brokerage firm). You’ll receive this form if someone pays you interest (think a bank or brokerage firm).
- Form 1099-MISC: If you’re an independent contractor or self-employed, you’ll get a Form 1099-MISC from any business that paid you $600 or more this year. It covers any miscellaneous income.
- Form 5498: This reports any contributions made to your IRA this year.
What to do with your 1099
Generally, yes, if you had income taxes withheld from the distribution reported on the Form 1099. The information provided on the Form 1099 is used in preparing your tax return. Contact your tax advisor for any questions.
If you file taxes, you may need to report the information provided on your Form 1099-R on your tax return. Please consult with your individual tax advisor to see if you need to file a tax return. Principal cannot provide tax advice or help to complete tax forms. If you don’t need to file a tax return, keep this form with your important records.
Generally, yes, if you had income taxes withheld from the distribution reported on the Form 1099. The information provided on the Form 1099 is used in preparing your tax return. Contact your tax advisor for any questions.
1099 distributions
If you had an outstanding loan balance at the time you left the organization that sponsored the retirement plans, or if you had an outstanding policy loan balance at the time you surrendered a life insurance policy and did not pay it back, this amount is included as part of the total taxable amount indicated on the Form 1099-R.
If you had an outstanding loan balance at the time you left the organization that sponsored the retirement plans, or if you had an outstanding policy loan balance at the time you surrendered a life insurance policy and did not pay it back, this amount is included as part of the total taxable amount indicated on the Form 1099-R.
- Look for a check stub or copies of any communication. You may have received a benefit other than cash: For example, an outstanding loan balance would become a taxable distribution if you didn’t repay the loan when you left your job or surrendered your life insurance policy.
- This distribution is being reported as taxable for the tax year listed on the tax record. If you received more than one tax record, the total from all records in the taxable amount section is your total benefit for that tax year.
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The subject matter in this communication is educational only and provided with the understanding that Principal® is not rendering legal, accounting, investment advice or tax advice. You should consult with appropriate counsel or other advisors on all matters pertaining to legal, tax, investment or accounting obligations and requirements.