Information about Railroad Retirement Benefits (Form RRB-1099)

For Form RRB-1099-R, see the next section which reports RRB Tier 1 and Tier II benefits (treated as pension income) and is not entered here.

Form RRB-1099 is entered in the same area as the social security form. Your Social Security equivalent benefits paid to you are reported in Box 5. This amount is taxed the same way as Social Security benefits, which is why you enter them in the same area.

In TurboTax, find the Form RRB-1099 entry area under:

1. Federal Taxes tab (Personal Tab in Home & Business product),
2. Wages & Income button, click on Explore on My Own.
3. On the Your 2011 Income Summary page, scroll down to Retirement Plans and Social Security.
4. Click Start/Update next to the Social Security (SSA-1099, RRB-1099).

You can also find the Social Security Benefits screen by entering “rrb-1099” in the search box at the upper right area of your program and clicking Find.

On the Social Security Benefits screen, select Yes.

After entering all of the information from your forms, select Continue to return to the Your 2011 Income Summary page.

Form RRB-1099 reports Social Security equivalent benefits and is taxed the same way as Social Security benefits, which is why you enter it in the Social Security section.

Form RRB-1099-R reports any RRB Tier 1 and Tier II benefits (treated as pension income) paid to you and is entered in the same area as other form 1099-Rs. You will need to provide information about the benefit starting date and the non-taxable amount of your payments. Contact your benefit plan administer if you do not have that information.

In TurboTax, find the Form RRB-1099-R entry area under:

1. Federal Taxes tab (Personal Tab in Home & Business product),
2. Wages & Income button, click on Explore on My Own.
3. On the Your 2011 Income Summary page, scroll down to Retirement Plans and Social Security.
4. Click Start/Update next to the line IRA, 401(K), Pension Plans (1099-R).

You can also find the Your 1099-R screen by entering “rrb-1099-r” in the search box at the upper right area of your program and clicking Find.

On the Your 1099-R screen, select Yes.

After the Your 1099-R screen, select whether you will import or manually enter your form. On the next screen, check the type of form (RRB-1099-R) you will enter. If married filing joint, check the box for the person this form was paid to.

On the Take a Look at Your 1099-R screen, enter the payer information, the recipient's information, and the amounts as shown in each box on the 1099-R. As you continue, there may also be screens verifying certain box entries, employment categories, and state information.

The following screens ask about benefit payments, when they started, and how much of the payments are taxable. If this information is not available from previous tax years, check your retirement documents or call the financial institution handling your payments to find answers about your plan.

Entry of this form is done when you reach the Your 1099-R Entries screen. You can add additional form 1099-Rs here or continue to the Your 2011 Income Summary page.

Codes in box 7 are used to determine correct tax handling. You can see what your code means on the Guide to Distribution Codes table in the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498.

It is rare, but issuers may have used an incorrect code; if you think your code does not match what you believe happened, check with the financial firm issuing the form.

Many states exempt government pensions from state income taxes.

• Some states allow a fixed or computed dollar deduction, or completely exempt federally taxed pensions.
• Some states tax social security and RRB pensions the same as federal.
• Some states tax social security but not RRB.

For additional information about retirement plans and taxes, see these IRS publications:

• IRS Publication 915 (2011), Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits
• IRS Publication 554, Tax Guide for Seniors