Introduction The Form RRB-1099 tax statement is issued by the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board
(RRB) and represents payments made to you in the tax year indicated on the
statement. You will need to determine if any of the railroad retirement payments
made to you are taxable. Explanation of items on Form RRB-1099 are on the back
of this explanation sheet.
The mailing address shown on Form RRB-1099 is the address we currently have on
our records. Please review the mailing address shown. If the mailing address
shown is incorrect or incomplete, please provide the RRB with your correct
mailing address.
Form
RRB-1099
Form RRB-1099 reports the Social Security Equivalent Benefit (SSEB) portion of
tier 1 and special guaranty benefits paid and repaid to citizens and/or
residents of the United States, and the related U.S. Federal income tax
withheld. SSEB payments are similar to social security benefits for U.S. Federal
income tax purposes. Payments and repayments resulting from railroad retirement
annuity adjustments are shown on your tax statements, and may be fully or
partially subject to taxation. This is true whether adjustments result in net
amounts due or net overpayments which you are asked to repay, and whether any
overpayments are recovered or waived. A
repayment is a returned payment, a cash refund, or an amount withheld from your
annuity to recover an overpayment. Certain payments and repayments are
not taxable and are not reported on your tax statements. These certain payments
and repayments include tier 1, tier 2, and vested dual benefits paid for a
period before December 1983; tier 2 and vested dual benefits repaid for a period
before December 1983; separation allowance lump sum amounts; residual lump sum
amounts; lump sum death payments; and Railroad Retirement Act tax refunds. To
determine if your SSEB payments and social security benefits are taxable, refer
to the Social Security Benefits worksheet in the Instructions for Form 1040
and/or Form 1040A Booklet(s). For more detailed information about SSEB benefits
and Form RRB-1099, get IRS Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent
Railroad Retirement Benefits. Railroad retirement payments are not taxable for
state income tax purposes.
Note: You should have received
Form SSA-1099 and Notice 703 from the Social Security Administration (SSA) if
you also received social security benefits for the tax year indicated on the
Form RRB-1099. Contact SSA not the RRB if you need Form SSA-1099 and Notice 703.
Corrected/Duplicate RRB-1099
There are two
boxes located at the top left hand side of the Form RRB-1099 tax statement
indicated as Corrected or Duplicate. Neither box is checked if this is
an original Form RRB-1099. One of these boxes is checked when either a corrected
or duplicate Form RRB-1099 is prepared. Both boxes are checked if the Form
RRB-1099 is a duplicate of a previously corrected Form RRB-1099. You may
receive more than one original Form RRB-1099 for the tax year indicated. Each
original Form RRB-1099 is valid and should be included when you file your income
tax return for the tax year indicated. A “duplicate” Form RRB-1099 is the same
as a previously released original or corrected Form RRB-1099. The RRB may issue
a “corrected” Form RRB-1099 if there is an error in the “original” Form
RRB-1099. A “corrected” Form RRB-1099 replaces the corresponding “original”
Form RRB-1099. Therefore, you must use the latest corrected or duplicate Form
RRB-1099 you received AND any original Form RRB-1099 that the RRB has not
corrected when you file and/or amend your income tax return for that same tax
year. If you are required to file an income tax return, a negligence penalty or
other sanction may be imposed on you if the income is taxable and the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) determines that it has not been reported.
You may also receive a Form RRB-1099-R tax statement in addition to a Form
RRB-1099. Form RRB-1099-R reports the taxable amounts paid, repaid, and the
related U.S. Federal income tax withheld from, the Non-Social Security
Equivalent Benefit (NSSEB) portion of the tier 1, tier 2, vested dual benefit (VDB),
and supplemental annuity payments. These payments are treated as private
pensions. For more information about these payments and Form RRB-1099-R, refer
to IRS Pub. 575, Pension and Annuity Income.To determine your taxable amount,
follow the Instructions for Form 1040 and/or Form 1040A Booklet(s), and/or IRS
Pub. 939, General Rule for Pensions and Annuities.
The totals
The totals reported on your Form RRB-1099 may equal the total amount of SSEB payments you
actually received during the tax year indicated. For beneficiaries receiving
Medicare, the difference may be the total amount of Medicare premiums paid
during the tax year indicated since amounts shown on tax statements are before
any deduction for Medicare. Effective for tax years 1997 and later, the RRB only
shows the total Part B Medicare premiums that were deducted from railroad
retirement annuity payments for the tax year indicated on Form RRB-1099. The RRB
does not show the Medicare premiums deducted from social security benefits on
any tax statement issued by the RRB. In addition, Medicare premium refunds are
not included in your Medicare premium total.
Questions
If you have any questions about how to
figure your taxable payments and/or what amounts to show on your income tax
returns and/or how to amend income tax returns, contact your own tax preparer or
the local IRS office listed in the blue pages of your telephone book.
However, contact the RRB if you have questions about your Form RRB-1099 and
railroad retirement benefit payments, or if you need to request a duplicate Form
RRB-1099 for any tax year. When contacting the RRB about your Form RRB-1099,
always give the claim number and payee code shown in Box 1 of your Form
RRB-1099. The recipient’s identification number in Box 2 of the Form RRB-1099 is
either the United States social security number OR individual taxpayer
identification number (ITIN) OR employer identification number (EIN) for the
person or Estate listed as the recipient. For assistance with your inquiries,
contact the RRB at 1-877-772-5772. In addition, you may visit our website
at www.rrb.gov.
You may want to photocopy and retain this Form RRB-1099 for
income verification and record keeping purposes.
Please be sure the RRB
always has your current mailing address.
Explanation of Items on Form RRB-1099
Box 3 - Gross Social
Security Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 paid in the year shown above
- This is the total SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits paid to you during the tax
year indicated on the Form RRB-1099. It includes any SSEB benefits paid to you
during the indicated tax year that were for prior years.
Box 4 - Social Security
Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 repaid to RRB in the year shown above
- This is the total SSEB benefits you repaid to the RRB during the tax year
indicated on the Form RRB-1099. It includes any SSEB benefits you repaid during
the indicated tax year that were for prior years. You may have repaid a SSEB
benefit by returning a payment, by making a cash refund, or by having an amount
withheld from your annuity for overpayment recovery purposes.
Box 5 - Net Social Security
Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 paid in the year shown above -
This total is the amount in Box 3 minus the amount in Box 4. A figure in
parenthesis is a negative amount. A negative amount means you repaid the RRB
more than you received or were credited with receiving during the tax year
indicated on the Form RRB-1099. If you received more than one Form RRB-1099 or
Form SSA-1099 for the same tax year, a negative figure in Box 5 of Forms
RRB-1099 or SSA-1099 can be used to offset a positive figure in Box 5 of the
other Forms RRB-1099 or SSA-1099 for the same tax year. To see if any part of
the SSEB is taxable, refer to the Social Security Benefits worksheet in the
Instructions for Forms 1040 and/or 1040A booklet(s), and/or IRS Publication 915,
Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits.
Box 6 - Workers’
Compensation Offset in the year shown above - This amount is for
informational purposes. This is the amount of any workers' compensation deducted
from your SSEB payments. This amount is included in the amount shown in Box 3.
Box 7 - Social Security
Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 paid for one year prior to the year shown
above - This total is the amount of SSEB that was due for one year prior
to the tax year indicated, but was not paid until the tax year indicated on the
Form RRB-1099. This amount is included in the amount shown in Box 3.
Box 8 - Social Security
Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 paid for two years prior to the year shown
above - This total is the amount of SSEB that was due for two years
prior to the tax year indicated, but was not paid until the tax year indicated
on the Form RRB-1099. This amount is included in the amount shown in Box 3.
Box 9 - Social Security
Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 paid for three or more years prior to the
year shown above - This total is the amount of SSEB that was due for
three or more years prior to the tax year indicated, but was not paid until the
tax year indicated on the Form RRB-1099. This amount is included in the amount
shown in Box 3. Any tier 1 benefit paid for a period prior to 1986 is treated
as SSEB.
Box 10 - Federal Income
Tax Withheld - This total is the amount of U.S. Federal income tax
withheld from your SSEB payments during the tax year indicated on the Form
RRB-1099. Include this on your income tax return as tax withheld. CAUTION:
Effective with tax years 1997 and later, this total is based on the amount of
SSEB tax withholding that you requested on IRS Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding
Request. Prior to tax year 1997, this total is the tax withholding that you
requested in excess of monthly NSSEB, tier 2, VDB and supplemental annuity
payments you received.
Box 11 - Medicare Premium
Total - This is the total amount of Part B Medicare premiums deducted
from your railroad retirement annuity payments during the tax year indicated on
Form RRB-1099. This amount is for informational purposes and only applies for
tax years 1997 and later. If your Form RRB-1099 is for a tax year prior to tax
year 1997, this box is blank even though you may have had Medicare premiums
deducted from your railroad retirement annuity payments. Medicare premium
refunds are not included in the Medicare total. The Medicare total is normally
shown on Form RRB-1099. However, if Form RRB-1099 is not required for the tax
year indicated, then the Medicare total is shown on Form RRB-1099-R. If your
Medicare premiums were deducted from your social security benefits; paid by a
third party; and/or you paid the premiums by direct billing, your Medicare total
will not be shown in this box. |