How Digital Trust reports to the IRS on your behalf
Digital Trust, as the custodian for your Retired.com account, files specific reports with the Internal Revenue Service each year. This article covers what gets filed, what each report contains, and — equally important — what is not reported on your behalf that you're responsible for reporting on your personal return.
Steps / Explanation
As an IRS-approved custodian, Digital Trust has specific reporting obligations defined in the Internal Revenue Code and supporting regulations. These reports describe what happened in your account during the year — contributions in, distributions out, account values, and a few specific events. Reports are filed annually with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), coordinated through the Retired.com platform, and copies are sent to you for your records.
This article focuses on what Digital Trust files. For the records and filings that sit with you rather than the custodian — particularly Form 8606 and Form 5329 — see "Your recordkeeping responsibilities as an SDIRA holder" and "Your responsibilities vs. Retired.com's and Digital Trust's responsibilities."
The two main custodian filings
Digital Trust's recurring IRS filings for an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) are:
Form 5498 — IRA Contribution Information. Filed by May 31 each year for the prior tax year. Captures contributions, rollovers in, conversions, recharacterizations (where they still apply historically), and the Fair Market Value of the account as of December 31 of the reporting year.
Form 1099-R — Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc. Filed by January 31 each year for the prior tax year. Captures every distribution from the account during the year, including direct rollovers, Roth conversions, and in-kind distributions.
You receive a copy of each form for your records. Digital Trust files matching copies with the IRS.
What Form 5498 reports
Form 5498 captures the inputs to your IRA for the year:
Box 1 — IRA contributions (other than rollovers, transfers, and conversions): your direct contributions made for the tax year. The form distinguishes between contributions designated for the current year and contributions designated for the prior year (made between January 1 and the April filing deadline).
Box 2 — Rollover contributions: rollover amounts received into the account during the year.
Box 3 — Roth IRA conversion amount: any Roth conversion landing in a Roth IRA on your Retired.com account during the year.
Box 4 — Recharacterized contributions: historically used for re-characterization of contributions; largely obsolete since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated re-characterization of Roth conversions.
Box 5 — Fair Market Value (FMV): the account's reported FMV as of December 31. For accounts with non-publicly-traded assets, this value comes from the FMV documentation you provide; Digital Trust files what you submit.
Box 7 — IRA type checkboxes: identifies the account as Traditional, Roth, SEP, or SIMPLE.
Other boxes: report Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) information, postponed contributions (for certain military, disaster-area, or qualified-plan situations), and other specialized events.
The form's deadline (May 31) is later than personal tax filing (April 15) for one practical reason: it has to capture contributions made between January 1 and April 15 of the following year that were designated for the prior tax year. That window is open until the personal tax filing deadline, so the custodian's annual reporting waits until that window has closed.
What Form 1099-R reports
Form 1099-R captures every taxable event coming out of the account during the year:
The gross distribution amount.
The taxable amount, where the custodian can determine it. For Roth IRAs and accounts where basis tracking is the account holder's responsibility, Digital Trust may report the gross amount and check "Taxable amount not determined."
The federal income tax withheld, if any, on the distribution.
The distribution code (Box 7). This is the most important field for tax reporting. The code identifies the type of distribution:
1 — Early distribution, no known exception (under age 59½)
2 — Early distribution with a known exception (e.g., SOSEPP / §72(t)(2)(A)(iv))
3 — Disability
4 — Death
7 — Normal distribution (age 59½ or older)
G — Direct rollover to a qualified plan, IRA, or 403(b)
H — Direct rollover of a designated Roth account distribution to a Roth IRA
N — Recharacterized contribution (rare since TCJA)
Several other codes for specific events.
The IRA/SEP/SIMPLE checkbox identifying the source account type.
Direct rollovers (code G) and trustee-to-trustee transfers are reported when applicable, even though they are not taxable events — the 1099-R is the audit-trail document that reconciles the 5498 on the receiving side.
What is not filed on your behalf
This is at least as important as what does get filed. Several IRS forms related to IRA activity are filed by you with your personal income tax return — not by Digital Trust or Retired.com:
Form 8606 — Nondeductible IRAs. Filed by the account holder for each year a non-deductible Traditional IRA contribution is made, each year a distribution is taken from an account with basis, and each year a Roth conversion occurs. Form 8606 is the only authoritative record of basis in a Traditional IRA. Digital Trust does not file Form 8606 and cannot reconstruct one for you.
Form 5329 — Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans. Filed by the account holder to report the 10% early-withdrawal additional tax under Internal Revenue Code §72(t) (and any claimed exceptions), the 6% excise tax on excess contributions, the 25% (or 10% after correction) excise tax on missed RMDs, and other IRA-related additional taxes.
Form 990-T — Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return. Filed by the IRA itself (typically prepared by the account holder or their tax professional) when the IRA has $1,000+ of Unrelated Business Taxable Income (UBTI) from an active trade/business or from debt-financed property.
Form 5330 — Return of Excise Taxes Related to Employee Benefit Plans. Filed by a disqualified person who has engaged in a prohibited transaction, to report and pay the 15% (and potentially 100%) excise tax under IRC §4975.
Form 5500-EZ — One-Participant Pension Plan Annual Return. For Solo 401(k) plans with $250,000+ in plan assets — filed by the plan administrator (typically the business owner), not the custodian.
If you need any of these forms filed, the responsibility is yours, ideally with help from a tax advisor familiar with retirement-account rules.
We recommend consulting a tax advisor or attorney for guidance specific to your situation.
How the filings reconcile on your personal return
When you file your personal tax return, you generally:
Match Form 1099-R to your return. Each 1099-R corresponds to a line on your tax return — typically the "IRA distribution" line. The taxable portion (or the gross amount, if you have basis or other complexity) flows to your taxable income.
Reconcile rollovers and conversions. Direct rollovers (code G) are reported but not taxed; you indicate "rollover" on your return. Roth conversions are reported and taxed in the year of the conversion. Both flow through the IRA distribution line with appropriate notations.
Cross-check against Form 5498. Form 5498 confirms what landed in the account (contributions, rollovers in, conversions, FMV). For most account holders, 5498 is informational — the contribution amount affects your return through Form 8606 (for non-deductible Traditional contributions) or the deduction line (for deductible Traditional contributions).
File the account-holder forms yourself. Form 8606 if any non-deductible contributions, distributions from basis, or conversions occurred. Form 5329 if any additional taxes apply or exceptions are claimed.
Errors and corrections
If a filed 5498 or 1099-R contains an error — wrong amount, wrong distribution code, mis-designated tax year — contact the Service Team. Digital Trust can file a corrected 5498 or 1099-R if appropriate. Corrections are reported to the IRS with a corrected-form designation; the IRS reconciles the corrected and original filings.
If you receive a filing that you believe is wrong, raise it before you file your personal return rather than after — a corrected filing in advance is much simpler than amending your personal return later.
Common questions
When do I receive my Form 5498 and Form 1099-R?
Form 1099-R is issued by January 31 each year for distributions in the prior year. Form 5498 is issued by May 31 — the later deadline accommodates contributions designated for the prior year that were made up to the April 15 personal-tax filing deadline.
Why didn't I receive a 5498 if I didn't contribute anything?
You will still receive a Form 5498 if the account has any balance at year-end — the form reports Fair Market Value even in years with no contributions, rollovers, or conversions. The form is suppressed only in narrow cases (for example, a fully closed account).
Does Digital Trust report what I owe in taxes?
No. Digital Trust reports what happened in the account — distributions taken, contributions made, FMV at year-end. The tax owed on those events is calculated on your personal return, taking into account your overall tax situation, basis you may have, and any exceptions that apply. We recommend consulting a tax advisor or attorney for guidance specific to your situation.
If I have multiple IRAs on my Retired.com account, do I get separate 5498s and 1099-Rs?
Yes. Each IRA is reported separately. A Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, and SIMPLE IRA would each receive their own 5498 and (if applicable) 1099-R.
Need more support? Contact our Service team
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Retired.com is a platform that connects clients with its affiliated entities, including Digital Trust, BitcoinIRA, WAO Advisory, Rocket Dollar Capital, and Rocket Dollar Advisor. Digital Trust is an independent, directed, non-discretionary trust company that is registered and regulated in the state of Nevada. While Retired.com facilitates connections to these services, it is not itself a custodian, digital wallet, exchange, broker-dealer, registered investment advisor, or a company involved in trading publicly traded assets. All information provided is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as investment, legal, or tax advice. We encourage you to consult with a qualified advisor or professional to determine the most suitable options for your individual needs.