What Form 8606 is for
Form 8606 keeps a record of IRA money you already paid tax on. You use it to report nondeductible contributions you made to a traditional IRA, distributions from a traditional IRA when you have basis in those IRAs, amounts you converted from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, and distributions from a Roth IRA.
The people who file it are individuals with their own IRAs. A married couple cannot share one form. If both of you have to file, each of you files a separate Form 8606, and you file a separate form for an IRA inherited from each decedent. Employer contributions to a SEP IRA or a SIMPLE IRA do not count as nondeductible contributions.
Who has to file Form 8606?
You file the 2025 form if one of a handful of things happened in 2025. The most common reason is making a nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA. You also file if you took money out of a traditional IRA and your basis in those IRAs is more than zero, if you converted a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, or if you took a distribution from a Roth IRA. You do not file this form just to report regular Roth IRA contributions.
- You made nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA for 2025
- You took a traditional IRA distribution and your basis in those IRAs is more than zero
- You converted an amount from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 2025
- You took a Roth IRA distribution that was not a rollover, a recharacterization or a return of certain contributions
- You or your spouse transferred a traditional IRA to the other under a divorce or separation agreement and the basis changed
- You took a distribution from an inherited traditional IRA that has basis, or a distribution from an inherited Roth IRA that was not qualified
When and where do you file Form 8606?
File the 2025 form with your 2025 Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR by the due date of that return, including extensions. It attaches to the return, at sequence number 48. If you are not required to file an income tax return but you are required to file Form 8606, sign the form and send it to the IRS at the same time and place you would have filed the return. Put your address on page 1 and your signature and the date on page 2.
One date in the instructions is worth noting. The due date for making 2025 IRA contributions, for most people, is Wednesday, April 15, 2026. Contributions you make for 2025 between January 1, 2026 and April 15, 2026 still go on line 1 of this form.
How do you fill out Form 8606?
The form has three parts and you complete only the ones that apply to you. Part I handles nondeductible contributions to traditional IRAs and distributions from them. Part II handles 2025 conversions from traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs. Part III handles distributions from Roth IRAs. Part I starts with your 2025 nondeductible contributions on line 1 and your total basis on line 2. Add those two for line 3. If you took no distribution and made no Roth conversion in 2025, move line 3 to line 14 and stop there.
What changed on the 2025 form?
Three updates show up this year. First, traditional IRA now includes traditional SEP and traditional SIMPLE IRAs, and Roth IRA includes Roth SEP and Roth SIMPLE IRAs, except where the text says otherwise. Second, the form and instructions now state clearly that nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA do not include employer contributions made to a SEP IRA under a SEP arrangement or to a SIMPLE IRA under a SIMPLE IRA plan. Third, the modified AGI limits went up.
- Traditional IRA contributions if you are covered by a plan at work: modified AGI under $146,000 married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse, $89,000 single or head of household, $10,000 if married filing separately and you lived with your spouse
- Roth IRA contributions: modified AGI under $246,000 married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse, $165,000 single or head of household, $10,000 if married filing separately and you lived with your spouse
- Lines 6, 7, 15b, 19 and 25b now account for 2025 Form 8915-F amounts
What if you fix or undo a contribution?
Recharacterizing means moving a contribution from one type of IRA to the other in a trustee-to-trustee transfer. You generally make that transfer by the due date of your return, including extensions, and show it on the return. If you filed on time without making the transfer, you can still make it within 6 months of the due date, not counting extensions, and enter "Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2" on an amended return. A conversion made in 2018 or later cannot be recharacterized.
Contributions returned to you with their earnings by the due date of your 2025 return, including extensions, count as if you never made them. Leave both the contribution and the distribution off Form 8606. Report the distribution on line 4a of your return and the earnings on line 4b, with a statement explaining it. If you were under age 59 1/2, the earnings can carry an additional 10% tax on early distributions.
Form 8606 line by line
| Line | What goes there |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your nondeductible traditional IRA contributions for 2025, including ones made for 2025 from January 1, 2026 through April 15, 2026. |
| 2 | Your total basis in traditional IRAs. Enter -0- if this is your first year filing the form, unless your basis changed for a listed reason. |
| 6 | The value of all your traditional IRAs on December 31, 2025, plus outstanding rollovers, less certain 2025 repayments treated as rollovers. |
| 7 | Your 2025 traditional IRA distributions. Leave out rollovers, qualified charitable distributions, conversions, recharacterizations and returned contributions. |
| 8 | The net amount you converted from traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs in 2025. The same figure also goes on line 16. |
| 10 | Line 5 divided by line 9, as a decimal rounded to at least 3 places. If the result is 1.000 or more, enter 1.000. |
| 14 | Your total basis in traditional IRAs for 2025 and earlier years. Keep this figure for the next form you file. |
| 15c | The taxable part of your traditional IRA distributions. If more than zero, also include it on line 4b of Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR. |
| 16 | The net amount you converted from traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs in 2025. Use the amount from line 8 if you completed Part I. |
| 17 | Your basis in the amount on line 16. Use the amount from line 11 if you completed Part I. |
| 18 | Line 16 minus line 17. This is the taxable part of your conversion. If more than zero, include it on line 4b of your return. |
| 19 | Your total nonqualified Roth IRA distributions in 2025, including any qualified first-time homebuyer distributions. |
| 20 | Qualified first-time homebuyer expenses. Do not enter more than $10,000 reduced by all your prior first-time homebuyer distributions. |
| 22 | Your basis in Roth IRA contributions. If line 21 is zero, stop here. |
Penalties and withholding
$50
Not filing Form 8606 to report a 2025 nondeductible traditional IRA contribution, absent reasonable cause
$100
Overstating your nondeductible contributions, unless you can show reasonable cause
10%
Additional tax that can apply if you were under age 59 1/2 when you took the distribution
Source: IRS, Form 8606 (Rev. 2025) and Instructions for Form 8606, Nondeductible IRAs. This page explains the form in plain English. It is not tax advice.