Do I need to report Coverdell ESA contribution to IRS?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
May 15, 2021
2 replies
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Can I get clarification ? I have the following questions:

1. Is Education Savings IRA the same as Coverdell ESA? Schwab calls it the former.

2. I contributed to Education Savings IRA account last year. I have not received any official form from Schwab such as a 1099 to file with my tax return. Do I need to report the contributions somehow to the IRS?

3. Searching online, I came across the form 5498-ESA. Do I need to fill this out if I don't have any distributions?

AmyC

Employee

The contributions do not have to be reported on your federal but may qualify for a deduction on your state return.

See Education Savings Account | Charles Schwab it sounds like Topic No. 310 Coverdell Education Savings Accounts | IRS.

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Hal_Al

Employee

Q1. Is Education Savings IRA the same as Coverdell ESA? Schwab calls it the former.

A.1. For tax purposes, they are the same.

Q. 2. I contributed to Education Savings IRA account last year. I have not received any official form from Schwab such as a 1099 to file with my tax return. Do I need to report the contributions somehow to the IRS?

A.2. No. See AmyC's answer. For a state list of eligible plans, see:

http://www.savingforcollege.com/compare_529_plans/index.php?page=compare_plan_questions&plan_question_ids[]=437&order_by=plan_question_437

Q. 3. Searching online, I came across the form 5498-ESA. Do I need to fill this out if I don't have any distributions?

A. 4. No. It is not "filled out" by the account owner/taxpayer. It's something the custodian (Schwab) sends to you and the IRS. It's informational only. You do not "file it".