Publication 575 (2007), Pension and Annuity Income

IRS Resources

Publication 575 - Main Contents

Table of Contents

General Information

Definitions. Some of the terms used in this publication are defined in the following paragraphs.

Pension. A pension is generally a series of definitely determinable payments made to you after you retire from work. Pension payments are made regularly and are based on such factors as years of service and prior compensation.

Annuity. An annuity is a series of payments under a contract made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year. They can be either fixed (under which you receive a definite amount) or variable (not fixed). You can buy the contract alone or with the help of your employer.

Qualified employee plan. A qualified employee plan is an employer's stock bonus, pension, or profit-sharing plan that is for the exclusive benefit of employees or their beneficiaries and that meets Internal Revenue Code requirements. It qualifies for special tax benefits, such as tax deferral for employer contributions and capital gain treatment or the 10-year tax option for lump-sum distributions (if participants qualify). To determine whether your plan is a qualified plan, check with your employer or the plan administrator.

Qualified employee annuity. A qualified employee annuity is a retirement annuity purchased by an employer for an employee under a plan that meets Internal Revenue Code requirements.

Designated Roth account. A designated Roth account is a separate account created under a qualified Roth contribution program to which participants may elect to have part or all of their elective deferrals to a 401(k) or 403(b) plan designated as Roth contributions. Elective deferrals that are designated as Roth contributions are included in your income. However, qualified distributions are not included in your income. You should check with your plan administrator to determine if your plan will accept designated Roth contributions.

Tax-sheltered annuity plan. A tax-sheltered annuity plan (often referred to as a 403(b) plan or a tax-deferred annuity plan) is a retirement plan for employees of public schools and certain tax-exempt organizations. Generally, a tax-sheltered annuity plan provides retirement benefits by purchasing annuity contracts for its participants.

Types of pensions and annuities. Pensions and annuities include the following types.

Fixed-period annuities. You receive definite amounts at regular intervals for a specified length of time.

Annuities for a single life. You receive definite amounts at regular intervals for life. The payments end at death.

Joint and survivor annuities. The first annuitant receives a definite amount at regular intervals for life. After he or she dies, a second annuitant receives a definite amount at regular intervals for life. The amount paid to the second annuitant may or may not differ from the amount paid to the first annuitant.

Variable annuities. You receive payments that may vary in amount for a specified length of time or for life. The amounts you receive may depend upon such variables as profits earned by the pension or annuity funds, cost-of-living indexes, or earnings from a mutual fund.

Disability pensions. You receive disability payments because you retired on disability and have not reached minimum retirement age.

More than one program. You may receive employee plan benefits from more than one program under a single trust or plan of your employer. If you participate in more than one program, you may have to treat each as a separate pension or annuity contract, depending upon the facts in each case. Also, you may be considered to have received more than one pension or annuity. Your former employer or the plan administrator should be able to tell you if you have more than one contract.

Example.

Your employer set up a noncontributory profit-sharing plan for its employees. The plan provides that the amount held in the account of each participant will be paid when that participant retires. Your employer also set up a contributory defined benefit pension plan for its employees providing for the payment of a lifetime pension to each participant after retirement.

The amount of any distribution from the profit-sharing plan depends on the contributions (including allocated forfeitures) made for the participant and the earnings from those contributions. Under the pension plan, however, a formula determines the amount of the pension benefits. The amount of contributions is the amount necessary to provide that pension.

Each plan is a separate program and a separate contract. If you get benefits from these plans, you must account for each separately, even though the benefits from both may be included in the same check.

Distributions from a designated Roth account are treated separately from other distributions from the plan.

Qualified domestic relations order (QDRO). A QDRO is a judgment, decree, or order relating to payment of child support, alimony, or marital property rights to a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a participant in a retirement plan. The QDRO must contain certain specific information, such as the name and last known mailing address of the participant and each alternate payee, and the amount or percentage of the participant's benefits to be paid to each alternate payee. A QDRO may not award an amount or form of benefit that is not available under the plan.

A spouse or former spouse who receives part of the benefits from a retirement plan under a QDRO reports the payments received as if he or she were a plan participant. The spouse or former spouse is allocated a share of the participant's cost (investment in the contract) equal to the cost times a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the present value of the benefits payable to the spouse or former spouse. The denominator is the present value of all benefits payable to the participant.

A distribution that is paid to a child or other dependent under a QDRO is taxed to the plan participant.

Variable Annuities

The tax rules in this publication apply both to annuities that provide fixed payments and to annuities that provide payments that vary in amount based on investment results or other factors. For example, they apply to commercial variable annuity contracts, whether bought by an employee retirement plan for its participants or bought directly from the issuer by an individual investor. Under these contracts, the owner can generally allocate the purchase payments among several types of investment portfolios or mutual funds and the contract value is determined by the performance of those investments. The earnings are not taxed until distributed either in a withdrawal or in annuity payments. The taxable part of a distribution is treated as ordinary income.

For information on the tax treatment of a transfer or exchange of a variable annuity contract, see Transfers of Annuity Contracts under Taxation of Nonperiodic Payments, later.

Withdrawals. If you withdraw funds before your annuity starting date and your annuity is under a qualified retirement plan, a ratable part of the amount withdrawn is tax free. The tax-free part is based on the ratio of your cost (investment in the contract) to your account balance under the plan.

If your annuity is under a nonqualified plan (including a contract you bought directly from the issuer), the amount withdrawn is allocated first to earnings (the taxable part) and then to your cost (the tax-free part). However, if you bought your annuity contract before August 14, 1982, a different allocation applies to the investment before that date and the earnings on that investment. To the extent the amount withdrawn does not exceed that investment and earnings, it is allocated first to your cost (the tax-free part) and then to earnings (the taxable part).

If you withdraw funds (other than as an annuity) on or after your annuity starting date, the entire amount withdrawn is generally taxable.

The amount you receive in a full surrender of your annuity contract at any time is tax free to the extent of any cost that you have not previously recovered tax free. The rest is taxable.

For more information on the tax treatment of withdrawals, see Taxation of Nonperiodic Payments, later. If you withdraw funds from your annuity before you reach age 59½, also see Tax on Early Distributions under Special Additional Taxes, later.

Annuity payments. If you receive annuity payments under a variable annuity plan or contract, you recover your cost tax free under either the Simplified Method or the General Rule, as explained under Taxation of Periodic Payments, later. For a variable annuity paid under a qualified plan, you generally must use the Simplified Method. For a variable annuity paid under a nonqualified plan (including a contract you bought directly from the issuer), you must use a special computation under the General Rule. For more information, see Variable annuities in Publication 939 under Computation Under the General Rule.

Death benefits. If you receive a single-sum distribution from a variable annuity contract because of the death of the owner or annuitant, the distribution is generally taxable only to the extent it is more than the unrecovered cost of the contract. If you choose to receive an annuity, the payments are subject to tax as described above. If the contract provides a joint and survivor annuity and the primary annuitant had received annuity payments before death, you figure the tax-free part of annuity payments you receive as the survivor in the same way the primary annuitant did. See Survivors and Beneficiaries, later.

Section 457 Deferred Compensation Plans

If you work for a state or local government or for a tax-exempt organization, you may be able to participate in a section 457 deferred compensation plan. If your plan is an eligible plan, you are not taxed currently on pay that is deferred under the plan or on any earnings from the plan's investment of the deferred pay. You are generally taxed on amounts deferred in an eligible state or local government plan only when they are distributed from the plan. You are taxed on amounts deferred in an eligible tax-exempt organization plan when they are distributed or otherwise made available to you.

This publication covers the tax treatment of benefits under eligible section 457 plans, but it does not cover the treatment of deferrals. For information on deferrals under section 457 plans, see Retirement Plan Contributions under Employee Compensation in Publication 525.

Is your plan eligible? To find out if your plan is an eligible plan, check with your employer. Plans that are not eligible section 457 plans include the following.

Bona fide vacation leave, sick leave, compensatory time, severance pay, disability pay, or death benefit plans.
Nonelective deferred compensation plans for nonemployees (independent contractors).
Deferred compensation plans maintained by churches.
Length of service award plans for bona fide volunteer firefighters and emergency medical personnel. An exception applies if the total amount paid to a volunteer exceeds $3,000 for any year of service.

Disability Pensions

If you retired on disability, you generally must include in income any disability pension you receive under a plan that is paid for by your employer. You must report your taxable disability payments as wages on line 7 of Form 1040 or Form 1040A or on line 8 of Form 1040NR until you reach minimum retirement age. Minimum retirement age generally is the age at which you can first receive a pension or annuity if you are not disabled.

You may be entitled to a tax credit if you were permanently and totally disabled when you retired. For information on this credit, see Publication 524.

Beginning on the day after you reach minimum retirement age, payments you receive are taxable as a pension or annuity. Report the payments on Form 1040, lines 16a and 16b; Form 1040A, lines 12a and 12b; or on Form 1040NR, lines 17a and 17b.

Disability payments for injuries incurred as a direct result of a terrorist attack directed against the United States (or its allies) are not included in income. For more information about payments to survivors of terrorist attacks, see Publication 3920, Tax Relief for Victims of Terrorist Attacks.

Insurance Premiums for Retired Public Safety Officers

If you are an eligible retired public safety officer (law enforcement officer, firefighter, chaplain, or member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew), you can elect to exclude from income distributions made from your eligible retirement plan that are used to pay the premiums for accident or health insurance or long-term care insurance. The premiums can be for coverage for you, your spouse, or dependents. The distribution must be made directly from the plan to the insurance provider. You can exclude from income the smaller of the amount of the insurance premiums or $3,000. You can only make this election for amounts that would otherwise be included in your income. The amount excluded from your income cannot be used to claim a medical expense deduction.

An eligible retirement plan is a governmental plan that is:

a qualified trust,
a section 403(a) plan,
a section 403(b) annuity, or
a section 457(b) plan.

If you make this election, reduce the otherwise taxable amount of your pension or annuity by the amount excluded. The amount shown in box 2a of Form 1099-R does not reflect this exclusion. Report your total distributions on Form 1040, line 16a; Form 1040A, line 12a; or Form 1040NR, line 17a. Report the taxable amount on Form 1040, line 16b; Form 1040A, line 12b; or Form 1040NR, line 17b. Enter “PSO” next to the appropriate line on which you report the taxable amount.

Railroad Retirement Benefits

Benefits paid under the Railroad Retirement Act fall into two categories. These categories are treated differently for income tax purposes.

The first category is the amount of tier 1 railroad retirement benefits that equals the social security benefit that a railroad employee or beneficiary would have been entitled to receive under the social security system. This part of the tier 1 benefit is the social security equivalent benefit (SSEB) and you treat it for tax purposes like social security benefits. If you received, repaid, or had tax withheld from the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits during 2007, you will receive Form RRB-1099, Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board (or Form RRB-1042S, Statement for Nonresident Alien Recipients of Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board, if you are a nonresident alien) from the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).

For more information about the tax treatment of the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits and Forms RRB-1099 and RRB-1042S, see Publication 915.

The second category contains the rest of the tier 1 railroad retirement benefits, called the non-social security equivalent benefit (NSSEB). It also contains any tier 2 benefit, vested dual benefit (VDB), and supplemental annuity benefit. Treat this category of benefits, shown on Form RRB-1099-R, as an amount received from a qualified employee plan. This allows for the tax-free (nontaxable) recovery of employee contributions from the tier 2 benefits and the NSSEB part of the tier 1 benefits. (The NSSEB and tier 2 benefits, less certain repayments, are combined into one amount called the Contributory Amount Paid on Form RRB-1099-R.) Vested dual benefits and supplemental annuity benefits are non-contributory pensions and are fully taxable. See Taxation of Periodic Payments, later, for information on how to report your benefits and how to recover the employee contributions tax free. Form RRB-1099-R is used for U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and nonresident aliens.

Nonresident aliens. A nonresident alien is an individual who is not a citizen or a resident alien of the United States. Nonresident aliens are subject to mandatory U.S. tax withholding unless exempt under a tax treaty between the United States and their country of legal residency. A tax treaty exemption may reduce or eliminate tax withholding from railroad retirement benefits. See Tax withholding, later, for more information.

If you are a nonresident alien and your tax withholding rate changed or your country of legal residence changed during the year, you may receive more than one Form RRB-1042S or Form RRB-1099-R. To determine your total benefits paid or repaid and total tax withheld for the year, you should add the amounts shown on all forms you received for that year. For information on filing requirements for aliens, see Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens. For information on tax treaties between the United States and other countries that may reduce or eliminate U.S. tax on your benefits, see Publication 901, U.S. Tax Treaties.

Tax withholding. For SSEB payments received, get Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request, from the IRS and file it with the RRB to request or change your income tax withholding. For NSSEB, tier 2, VDB, and supplemental annuity payments received, use Form RRB W-4P, Withholding Certificate for Railroad Retirement Payments, to elect, revoke, or change your income tax withholding. If you are a nonresident alien or a U.S. citizen living abroad, you should provide Form RRB-1001, Nonresident Questionnaire, to the RRB to furnish citizenship and residency information and to claim any treaty exemption from U.S. tax withholding. Nonresident U.S. citizens cannot elect an exempt withholding status on payments delivered outside of the U.S.

Help from the RRB. To request an RRB form or to get help with questions about an RRB benefit, you should contact your nearest RRB field office if you reside in the United States (call 1-800-808-0772 for the nearest field office) or U.S. consulate/Embassy if you reside outside the United States. You can visit the RRB on the Internet at www.rrb.gov.

Form RRB-1099-R. The following discussion explains the items shown on Form RRB-1099-R. The amounts shown on this form are before any deduction for:

Federal income tax withholding,
Medicare premiums,
Legal process garnishment payments,
Overall minimum assignment payments,
Recovery of a prior year overpayment of an NSSEB, tier 2 benefit, VDB, or supplemental annuity benefit, or
Recovery of Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act benefits received while awaiting payment of your railroad retirement annuity.

The amounts shown on this form are after any offset for:

Social Security benefits,
Age reduction,
Public Service pensions or public disability benefits,
Dual railroad retirement entitlement under another RRB claim number,
Work deductions,
Legal process partition deductions,
Actuarial adjustment,
Annuity waiver, or
Recovery of a current-year overpayment of NSSEB, tier 2, VDB, or supplemental annuity benefits.

The amounts shown on Form RRB-1099-R do not reflect any special rules, such as capital gain treatment or the special 10-year tax option for lump-sum payments, or tax-free rollovers. To determine if any of these rules apply to your benefits, see the discussions about them later.

Generally, amounts shown on your Form RRB-1099-R are considered a normal distribution. Use distribution code “7” if you are asked for a distribution code.

There are three copies of this form. Copy B is to be included with your income tax return if federal income tax is withheld. Copy C is for your own records. Copy 2 is filed with your state, city, or local income tax return, when required. See the illustrated Copy B (Form RRB-1099-R) above.

Each beneficiary will receive his or her own Form RRB-1099-R. If you receive benefits on more than one railroad retirement record, you may get more than one Form RRB-1099-R. So that you get your form timely, make sure the RRB always has your current mailing address.

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Form RRB–1099–R

Box 1—Claim Number and Payee Code. Your claim number is a six- or nine-digit number preceded by an alphabetical prefix. This is the number under which the RRB paid your benefits. Your payee code follows your claim number and is the last number in this box. It is used by the RRB to identify you under your claim number. In all your correspondence with the RRB, be sure to use the claim number and payee code shown in this box.

Box 2—Recipient's Identification Number. This is the recipient's U.S. taxpayer identification number. It is the social security number (SSN), individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), or employer identification number (EIN), if known, for the person or estate listed as the recipient.

If you are a resident or nonresident alien who must furnish a taxpayer identification number to the IRS and are not eligible to obtain an SSN, use Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, to apply for an ITIN. The instructions for Form W-7 explain how and when to apply.

Box 3—Employee Contributions. This is the amount of taxes withheld from the railroad employee's earnings that exceeds the amount of taxes that would have been withheld had the earnings been covered under the social security system. This amount is the employee's cost (investment in the contract) that you use to figure the tax-free part of the NSSEB and tier 2 benefit you received (the amount shown in box 4). (For information on how to figure the tax-free part, see Partly Taxable Payments under Taxation of Periodic Payments, later.) The amount shown is the total employee contributions, not reduced by any amounts that the RRB calculated as previously recovered. It is the latest amount reported for 2007 and may have increased or decreased from a previous Form RRB-1099-R. If this amount has changed, the change is retroactive. You may need to refigure the tax-free part of your NSSEB/tier 2 benefit for 2007 and prior tax years. If this box is blank, it means that the amount of your NSSEB and tier 2 payments shown in box 4 is fully taxable.

If you had a previous annuity entitlement that ended and you are figuring the tax-free part of your NSSEB/tier 2 benefit for your current annuity entitlement, you should contact the RRB for confirmation of your correct employee contributions amount.

Box 4—Contributory Amount Paid. This is the gross amount of the NSSEB and tier 2 benefit you received in 2007, less any 2007 benefits you repaid in 2007. (Any benefits you repaid in 2007 for an earlier year or for an unknown year are shown in box 8.) This amount is the total contributory pension paid in 2007 and is usually partly taxable and partly tax free. You figure the tax-free part as explained in Partly Taxable Payments under Taxation of Periodic Payments, later, using the latest reported amount of employee contributions shown in box 3 as the cost (investment in the contract).

Box 5—Vested Dual Benefit. This is the gross amount of vested dual benefit (VDB) payments paid in 2007, less any 2007 VDB payments you repaid in 2007. It is fully taxable. VDB payments you repaid in 2007 for an earlier year or for an unknown year are shown in box 8.

Note.

The amounts shown in boxes 4 and 5 may represent payments for 2007 and/or other years after 1983.

Box 6—Supplemental Annuity. This is the gross amount of supplemental annuity benefits paid in 2007, less any 2007 supplemental annuity benefits you repaid in 2007. It is fully taxable. Supplemental annuity benefits you repaid in 2007 for an earlier year or for an unknown year are shown in box 8.

Box 7—Total Gross Paid. This is the sum of boxes 4, 5, and 6. The amount represents the total pension paid in 2007. Include this amount on Form 1040, line 16a; Form 1040A, line 12a; or Form 1040NR, line 17a.

Box 8—Repayments. This amount represents any NSSEB, tier 2 benefit, VDB, and supplemental annuity benefit you repaid to the RRB in 2007 for years before 2007 or for unknown years. The amount shown in this box has not been deducted from the amounts shown in boxes 4, 5, and 6. It only includes repayments of benefits that were taxable to you. This means it only includes repayments in 2007 of NSSEB benefits paid after 1985, tier 2 and VDB benefits paid after 1983, and supplemental annuity benefits paid in any year. If you included the benefits in your income in the year you received them, you may be able to deduct the repaid amount. For more information about repayments, see Repayment of benefits received in an earlier year, later.

You may have repaid an overpayment of benefits by returning a payment, by making a payment, or by having an amount withheld.

Box 9—Federal Income Tax Withheld. This is the total federal income tax withheld from your NSSEB, tier 2 benefit, VDB, and supplemental annuity benefit. Include this on your income tax return as tax withheld. If you are a nonresident alien and your tax withholding rate and/or country of legal residence changed during 2007, you will receive more than one Form RRB-1099-R for 2007. Therefore, add the amounts in box 9 of all Forms RRB-1099-R you receive for 2007 to determine your total amount of U.S. federal income tax withheld for 2007.

Box 10—Rate of Tax. If you are taxed as a U.S. citizen or resident alien, this box does not apply to you. If you are a nonresident alien, an entry in this box indicates the rate at which tax was withheld on the NSSEB, tier 2, VDB, and supplemental annuity payments that were paid to you in 2007. If you are a nonresident alien whose tax was withheld at more than one rate during 2007, you will receive a separate Form RRB-1099-R for each rate change during 2007.

Box 11—Country. If you are taxed as a U.S. citizen or resident alien, this box does not apply to you. If you are a nonresident alien, an entry in this box indicates the country of which you were a resident for tax purposes at the time you received railroad retirement payments in 2007. If you are a nonresident alien who was a resident of more than one country during 2007, you will receive a separate Form RRB-1099-R for each country of residence during 2007.

Box 12—Medicare Premium Total. This is for information purposes only. The amount shown in this box represents the total amount of Part B Medicare premiums deducted from your railroad retirement annuity payments in 2007. Medicare premium refunds are not included in the Medicare total. The Medicare total is normally shown on Form RRB-1099 (if you are a citizen or resident alien of the United States) or Form RRB-1042S (if you are a nonresident alien). However, if Form RRB-1099 or Form RRB-1042S is not required for 2007, then this total will be shown on Form RRB-1099-R. If your Medicare premiums were deducted from your social security benefits, paid by a third party, refunded to you, and/or you paid the premiums by direct billing, your Medicare total will not be shown in this box.

Repayment of benefits received in an earlier year. If you had to repay any railroad retirement benefits that you had included in your income in an earlier year because at that time you thought you had an unrestricted right to it, you can deduct the amount you repaid in the year in which you repaid it.

If you repaid $3,000 or less in 2007, deduct it on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 23. The 2%-of-adjusted-gross- income limit applies to this deduction. You cannot take this deduction if you file Form 1040A.

If you repaid more than $3,000 in 2007, you can either take a deduction for the amount repaid on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 28 or you can take a credit against your tax. For more information, see Repayments in Publication 525.

Withholding Tax and Estimated Tax

Your retirement plan distributions are subject to federal income tax withholding. However, you can choose not to have tax withheld on payments you receive unless they are eligible rollover distributions. (These are distributions, described later under Rollovers, that are eligible for rollover treatment but are not paid directly to another qualified retirement plan or to a traditional IRA.) If you choose not to have tax withheld or if you do not have enough tax withheld, you may have to make estimated tax payments. See Estimated tax, later.

The withholding rules apply to the taxable part of payments you receive from:

An employer pension, annuity, profit-sharing, or stock bonus plan,
Any other deferred compensation plan,
A traditional individual retirement arrangement (IRA), or
A commercial annuity.

For this purpose, a commercial annuity means an annuity, endowment, or life insurance contract issued by an insurance company.

There will be no withholding on any part of a distribution that (it is reasonable to believe) will not be includible in gross income.

Choosing no withholding. You can choose not to have income tax withheld from retirement plan payments unless they are eligible rollover distributions. You can make this choice on Form W-4P for periodic and nonperiodic payments. This choice generally remains in effect until you revoke it.

The payer will ignore your choice not to have tax withheld if:

You do not give the payer your social security number (in the required manner), or
The IRS notifies the payer, before the payment is made, that you gave an incorrect social security number.

To choose not to have tax withheld, a U.S. citizen or resident alien must give the payer a home address in the United States or its possessions. Without that address, the payer must withhold tax. For example, the payer has to withhold tax if the recipient has provided a U.S. address for a nominee, trustee, or agent to whom the benefits are delivered, but has not provided his or her own U.S. home address.

If you do not give the payer a home address in the United States or its possessions, you can choose not to have tax withheld only if you certify to the payer that you are not a U.S. citizen, a U.S. resident alien, or someone who left the country to avoid tax. But if you so certify, you may be subject to the 30% flat rate withholding that applies to nonresident aliens. This 30% rate will not apply if you are exempt or subject to a reduced rate by treaty. For details, get Publication 519.

Periodic payments. Unless you choose no withholding, your annuity or similar periodic payments (other than eligible rollover distributions) will be treated like wages for withholding purposes. Periodic payments are amounts paid at regular intervals (such as weekly, monthly, or yearly) for a period of time greater than one year (such as for 15 years or for life). You should give the payer a completed withholding certificate (Form W-4P or a similar form provided by the payer). If you do not, tax will be withheld as if you were married and claiming three withholding allowances.

Tax will be withheld as if you were single and were claiming no withholding allowances if:

You do not give the payer your social security number (in the required manner), or
The IRS notifies the payer (before any payment is made) that you gave an incorrect social security number.

You must file a new withholding certificate to change the amount of withholding.

Nonperiodic distributions. Unless you choose no withholding, the withholding rate for a nonperiodic distribution (a payment other than a periodic payment) that is not an eligible rollover distribution is 10% of the distribution. You can also ask the payer to withhold an additional amount using Form W-4P. The part of any loan treated as a distribution (except an offset amount to repay the loan), explained later, is subject to withholding under this rule.

Eligible rollover distribution. If you receive an eligible rollover distribution, 20% of it generally will be withheld for income tax. You cannot choose not to have tax withheld from an eligible rollover distribution. However, tax will not be withheld if you have the plan administrator pay the eligible rollover distribution directly to another qualified plan or an IRA in a direct rollover. For more information about eligible rollover distributions, see Rollovers, later.

Estimated tax. Your estimated tax is the total of your expected income tax, self-employment tax, and certain other taxes for the year, minus your expected credits and withheld tax. Generally, you must make estimated tax payments for 2008 if you expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax (after subtracting your withholding and credits) and you expect your withholding and credits to be less than the smaller of:

90% of the tax to be shown on your 2008 return, or
100% of the tax shown on your 2007 return.

If your adjusted gross income for 2007 was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if your filing status for 2008 is married filing separately), substitute 110% for 100% in (2) above. For more information, get Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax.

In figuring your withholding or estimated tax, remember that a part of your monthly social security or equivalent tier 1 railroad retirement benefits may be taxable. See Publication 915. You can choose to have income tax withheld from those benefits. Use Form W-4V to make this choice.

Cost (Investment in the Contract)

Distributions from your pension or annuity plan may include amounts treated as a recovery of your cost (investment in the contract). If any part of a distribution is treated as a recovery of your cost under the rules explained in this publication, that part is tax free. Therefore, the first step in figuring how much of a distribution is taxable is to determine the cost of your pension or annuity.

In general, your cost is your net investment in the contract as of the annuity starting date (or the date of the distribution, if earlier). To find this amount, you must first figure the total premiums, contributions, or other amounts you paid. This includes the amounts your employer contributed that were taxable to you when paid. (However, see Foreign employment contributions, later.) It does not include amounts withheld from your pay on a tax-deferred basis (money that was taken out of your gross pay before taxes were deducted). It also does not include amounts you contributed for health and accident benefits (including any additional premiums paid for double indemnity or disability benefits).

From this total cost you must subtract the following amounts.

Any refunded premiums, rebates, dividends, or unrepaid loans that were not included in your income and that you received by the later of the annuity starting date or the date on which you received your first payment.
Any other tax-free amounts you received under the contract or plan by the later of the dates in (1).
If you must use the Simplified Method for your annuity payments, the tax-free part of any single-sum payment received in connection with the start of the annuity payments, regardless of when you received it. (See Simplified Method, later, for information on its required use.)
If you use the General Rule for your annuity payments, the value of the refund feature in your annuity contract. (See General Rule, later, for information on its use.) Your annuity contract has a refund feature if the annuity payments are for your life (or the lives of you and your survivor) and payments in the nature of a refund of the annuity's cost will be made to your beneficiary or estate if all annuitants die before a stated amount or a stated number of payments are made. For more information, see Publication 939.

The tax treatment of the items described in (1) through (3) is discussed later under Taxation of Nonperiodic Payments.

Form 1099-R. If you began receiving periodic payments of a life annuity in 2007, the payer should show your total contributions to the plan in box 9b of your 2007 Form 1099-R.

Annuity starting date defined. Your annuity starting date is the later of the first day of the first period for which you received a payment or the date the plan's obligations became fixed.

Example.

On January 1, you completed all your payments required under an annuity contract providing for monthly payments starting on August 1 for the period beginning July 1. The annuity starting date is July 1. This is the date you use in figuring the cost of the contract and selecting the appropriate number from Table 1 for line 3 of the Simplified Method Worksheet.

Designated Roth accounts. Your cost in these accounts is your designated Roth contributions that were included in your income as wages subject to applicable withholding requirements.

Foreign employment contributions. If you worked abroad, your cost includes amounts contributed by your employer that were not includible in your gross income. This applies to contributions that were made either:

Before 1963 by your employer for that work,
After 1962 by your employer for that work if you performed the services under a plan that existed on March 12, 1962, or
After 1996 by your employer on your behalf if you performed the services of a foreign missionary (a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church or a lay person).

Foreign employment contributions while a nonresident alien. In determining your cost, special rules apply if you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien who received distributions in 2007 from a plan to which contributions were made while you were a nonresident alien. Your contributions and your employer's contributions are not included in your cost if the contribution:

Was made based on compensation which was for services performed outside the United States while you were a nonresident alien, and
Was not subject to income tax under the laws of the United States or any foreign country, but only if the contribution would have been subject to income tax if paid as cash compensation when the services were performed.

Taxation of Periodic Payments

This section explains how the periodic payments you receive from a pension or annuity plan are taxed. Periodic payments are amounts paid at regular intervals (such as weekly, monthly, or yearly) for a period of time greater than one year (such as for 15 years or for life). These payments are also known as amounts received as an annuity. If you receive an amount from your plan that is not a periodic payment, see Taxation of Nonperiodic Payments, later.

In general, you can recover the cost of your pension or annuity tax free over the period you are to receive the payments. The amount of each payment that is more than the part that represents your cost is taxable (however, see Insurance Premiums for Retired Public Safety Officers, earlier.

Designated Roth accounts. If you receive a qualified distribution from a designated Roth account, the distribution is not included in your gross income. This applies to both your cost in the account and income earned on that account. A qualified distribution is generally a distribution that is:

Made after a 5-tax-year period of participation; and
Made on or after the date you reach age 59½, made to a beneficiary or your estate on or after your death, or attributable to your being disabled.

If the distribution is not a qualified distribution, the rules discussed in this section apply. The designated Roth account is treated as a separate contract.

Period of participation. The 5-tax-year period of participation is the 5-tax-year period beginning with the first tax year for which the participant made a designated Roth contribution to the plan. Therefore, for designated Roth contributions made in 2007, the first year for which a qualified distribution can be made is 2012.

However, if a direct rollover is made to the plan from a designated Roth account under another plan, the 5-tax-year period for the recipient plan begins with the first tax year for which the participant first had designated Roth contributions made to the other plan.

Fully Taxable Payments

The pension or annuity payments that you receive are fully taxable if you have no cost in the contract because any of the following situations applies to you (however, see Insurance Premiums for Retired Public Safety Officers, earlier).

You did not pay anything or are not considered to have paid anything for your pension or annuity.
Your employer did not withhold contributions from your salary.
You got back all of your contributions tax free in prior years (however, see Exclusion not limited to cost under Partly Taxable Payments, later).

Report the total amount you got on Form 1040, line 16b; Form 1040A, line 12b; or on Form 1040NR, line 17b. You should make no entry on Form 1040, line 16a; Form 1040A, line 12a; or Form 1040NR, line 17a.

Deductible voluntary employee contributions. Distributions you receive that are based on your accumulated deductible voluntary employee contributions are generally fully taxable in the year distributed to you. Accumulated deductible voluntary employee contributions include net earnings on the contributions. If distributed as part of a lump sum, they do not qualify for the 10-year tax option or capital gain treatment.

Partly Taxable Payments

If you have a cost to recover from your pension or annuity plan (see Cost (Investment in the Contract), earlier), you can exclude part of each annuity payment from income as a recovery of your cost. This tax-free part of the payment is figured when your annuity starts and remains the same each year, even if the amount of the payment changes. The rest of each payment is taxable (however, see Insurance Premiums for Retired Public Safety Officers, earlier).

You figure the tax-free part of the payment using one of the following methods.

Simplified Method. You generally must use this method if your annuity is paid under a qualified plan (a qualified employee plan, a qualified employee annuity, or a tax-sheltered annuity plan or contract). You cannot use this method if your annuity is paid under a nonqualified plan.
General Rule. You must use this method if your annuity is paid under a nonqualified plan. You generally cannot use this method if your annuity is paid under a qualified plan.

You determine which method to use when you first begin receiving your annuity, and you continue using it each year that you recover part of your cost.

If you had more than one partly taxable pension or annuity, figure the tax-free part and the taxable part of each separately.

Qualified plan annuity starting before November 19, 1996. If your annuity is paid under a qualified plan and your annuity starting date (defined earlier under Cost (Investment in the Contract)) is after July 1, 1986, and before November 19, 1996, you could have chosen to use either the Simplified Method or the General Rule. If your annuity starting date is before July 2, 1986, you use the General Rule unless your annuity qualified for the Three-Year Rule. If you used the Three-Year Rule (which was repealed for annuities starting after July 1, 1986), your annuity payments are generally now fully taxable.

Exclusion limit. Your annuity starting date determines the total amount of annuity payments that you can exclude from income over the years.

Exclusion limited to cost. If your annuity starting date is after 1986, the total amount of annuity income that you can exclude over the years as a recovery of the cost cannot exceed your total cost. Any unrecovered cost at your (or the last annuitant's) death is allowed as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on the final return of the decedent. This deduction is not subject to the 2%-of-adjusted-gross-income limit.

Example 1.

Your annuity starting date is after 1986, and you exclude $100 a month ($1,200 a year) under the Simplified Method. The total cost of your annuity is $12,000. Your exclusion ends when you have recovered your cost tax free, that is, after 10 years (120 months). After that, your annuity payments are generally fully taxable.

Example 2.

The facts are the same as in Example 1, except you die (with no surviving annuitant) after the eighth year of retirement. You have recovered tax free only $9,600 (8 × $1,200) of your cost. An itemized deduction for your unrecovered cost of $2,400 ($12,000 minus $9,600) can be taken on your final return.

Exclusion not limited to cost. If your annuity starting date is before 1987, you can continue to take your monthly exclusion for as long as you receive your annuity. If you chose a joint and survivor annuity, your survivor can continue to take the survivor's exclusion figured as of the annuity starting date. The total exclusion may be more than your cost.

Simplified Method

Under the Simplified Method, you figure the tax-free part of each annuity payment by dividing your cost by the total number of anticipated monthly payments. For an annuity that is payable for the lives of the annuitants, this number is based on the annuitants' ages on the annuity starting date and is determined from a table. For any other annuity, this number is the number of monthly annuity payments under the contract.

Who must use the Simplified Method. You must use the Simplified Method if your annuity starting date is after November 18, 1996, and you meet both of the following conditions.

You receive your pension or annuity payments from any of the following plans.
1. A qualified employee plan.
2. A qualified employee annuity.
3. A tax-sheltered annuity plan (403(b) plan).
On your annuity starting date, at least one of the following conditions applies to you.
1. You are under age 75.
2. You are entitled to less than 5 years of guaranteed payments.

Guaranteed payments. Your annuity contract provides guaranteed payments if a minimum number of payments or a minimum amount (for example, the amount of your investment) is payable even if you and any survivor annuitant do not live to receive the minimum. If the minimum amount is less than the total amount of the payments you are to receive, barring death, during the first 5 years after payments begin (figured by ignoring any payment increases), you are entitled to less than 5 years of guaranteed payments.

Annuity starting before November 19, 1996. If your annuity starting date is after July 1, 1986, and before November 19, 1996, and you chose to use the Simplified Method, you must continue to use it each year that you recover part of your cost. You could have chosen to use the Simplified Method if your annuity is payable for your life (or the lives of you and your survivor annuitant) and you met both of the conditions listed earlier under Who must use the Simplified Method.

Who cannot use the Simplified Method. You cannot use the Simplified Method if you receive your pension or annuity from a nonqualified plan or otherwise do not meet the conditions described in the preceding discussion. See General Rule, later.

How to use the Simplified Method. Complete Worksheet A in the back of this publication to figure your taxable annuity for 2007. Be sure to keep the completed worksheet; it will help you figure your taxable annuity next year.

To complete line 3 of the worksheet, you must determine the total number of expected monthly payments for your annuity. How you do this depends on whether the annuity is for a single life, multiple lives, or a fixed period. For this purpose, treat an annuity that is payable over the life of an annuitant as payable for that annuitant's life even if the annuity has a fixed-period feature or also provides a temporary annuity payable to the annuitant's child under age 25.

You do not need to complete line 3 of the worksheet or make the computation on line 4 if you received annuity payments last year and used last year's worksheet to figure your taxable annuity. Instead, enter the amount from line 4 of last year's worksheet on line 4 of this year's worksheet.

Single-life annuity. If your annuity is payable for your life alone, use Table 1 at the bottom of the worksheet to determine the total number of expected monthly payments. Enter on line 3 the number shown for your age on your annuity starting date. This number will differ depending on whether your annuity starting date is before November 19, 1996, or after November 18, 1996.

Multiple-lives annuity. If your annuity is payable for the lives of more than one annuitant, use Table 2 at the bottom of the worksheet to determine the total number of expected monthly payments. Enter on line 3 the number shown for the annuitants' combined ages on the annuity starting date. For an annuity payable to you as the primary annuitant and to more than one survivor annuitant, combine your age and the age of the youngest survivor annuitant. For an annuity that has no primary annuitant and is payable to you and others as survivor annuitants, combine the ages of the oldest and youngest annuitants. Do not treat as a survivor annuitant anyone whose entitlement to payments depends on an event other than the primary annuitant's death.

However, if your annuity starting date is before 1998, do not use Table 2 and do not combine the annuitants' ages. Instead, you must use Table 1 at the bottom of the worksheet and enter on line 3 the number shown for the primary annuitant's age on the annuity starting date. This number will differ depending on whether your annuity starting date is before November 19, 1996, or after November 18, 1996.

Fixed-period annuity. If your annuity does not depend in whole or in part on anyone's life expectancy, the total number of expected monthly payments to enter on line 3 of the worksheet is the number of monthly annuity payments under the contract.

Example.

Bill Smith, age 65, began receiving retirement benefits in 2007 under a joint and survivor annuity. Bill's annuity starting date is January 1, 2007. The benefits are to be paid for the joint lives of Bill and his wife, Kathy, age 65. Bill had contributed $31,000 to a qualified plan and had received no distributions before the annuity starting date. Bill is to receive a retirement benefit of $1,200 a month, and Kathy is to receive a monthly survivor benefit of $600 upon Bill's death.

Bill must use the Simplified Method to figure his taxable annuity because his payments are from a qualified plan and he is under age 75. Because his annuity is payable over the lives of more than one annuitant, he uses his and Kathy's combined ages and Table 2 at the bottom of Worksheet A in completing line 3 of the worksheet. His completed worksheet is shown on the next page.

Bill's tax-free monthly amount is $100 ($31,000 ÷ 310) as shown on line 4 of the worksheet. Upon Bill's death, if Bill has not recovered the full $31,000 investment, Kathy will also exclude $100 from her $600 monthly payment. The full amount of any annuity payments received after 310 payments are paid must be included in gross income.

If Bill and Kathy die before 310 payments are made, a miscellaneous itemized deduction will be allowed for the unrecovered cost on the final income tax return of the last to die. This deduction is not subject to the 2%-of-adjusted- gross-income limit.

Worksheet A. Simplified Method Worksheet for Bill Smith

1.	Enter the total pension or annuity payments received this year. Also, add this amount to the total for Form 1040, line 16a; Form 1040A, line 12a; or Form 1040NR, line 17a	1.	$14,400
2.	Enter your cost in the plan (contract) at the annuity starting date plus any death benefit exclusion*	2.	31,000
	Note. If your annuity starting date was before this year and you completed this worksheet last year, skip line 3 and enter the amount from line 4 of last year's worksheet on line 4 below. Otherwise, go to line 3.
3.	Enter the appropriate number from Table 1 below. But if your annuity starting date was after 1997 and the payments are for your life and that of your beneficiary, enter the appropriate number from Table 2 below