Do you ever get so much “stuff” piled up on your kitchen counter…or desk, or side table or wherever you keep the “papers I may need but don’t have time to address right now” pile…that you just want to take it all and throw it in the trash?
Poof! Gone. Out of your mind, off your list. Except for the little voice in your head saying, “I hope I don’t need that for anything.”
You may not even know if you need to keep it because YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS!
Please allow me to introduce you to tax Form 5498.
Yes, I know, I touched on tax stuff last month – BORING – but hey, some things are just good to know.
I’ll keep it short and sweet and introduce just this one tid bit today.
Form 5498 is mailed to clients in late May (that’s NOW) from their brokerage firm when the client has either contributed to or rolled over retirement assets into their IRA.
Why not until May? The tax deadline was last month!
That’s your answer.
Because we can make contributions for the prior year up until the tax filing deadline in April, they don’t send them out until AFTER the filing deadline.
“But didn’t I need it to file my return”, you ask? After all, it very officially looks like an official tax document!
NOPE! (is that officially a word?)
You do not. It is for informational purposes only. HOWEVER,…
You should review it (sorry), make sure it is accurate (mistakes do happen) and then retain it for your tax records.
Preferably not on the kitchen counter.