I ran into this myself—more than one 1099-R showing up because I owned multiple mutual funds in retirement accounts. At first, it looked confusing, but once I figured it out, it made sense. If you’re trying to handle multiple 1099-Rs in TurboTax, especially when they’re tied to mutual funds, this guide should clear everything up.
Table of Contents
What Is Form 1099-R?
First off, Form 1099-R reports distributions from retirement accounts. This includes:
- Traditional IRAs
- Roth IRAs
- 401(k)s
- 403(b)s
- Pensions or annuities
So, if you owned mutual funds inside an IRA and took money out—or even did a Roth conversion—you got a 1099-R.
It doesn’t matter how many mutual funds you had. If you took a distribution from more than one account, you may get multiple 1099-Rs—one for each account or each type of transaction.
Why You Might Get More Than One 1099-R
Let me walk through a few situations where this happens:
- You rolled over one IRA into another and took a Roth conversion: two 1099-Rs
- You took Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from more than one IRA
- You withdrew from both a Traditional IRA and a 401(k)
- You had mutual funds in different accounts managed by different custodians (say, Fidelity and Vanguard)
Each institution sends its own 1099-R, even if it’s just $200.
Where to Enter Them in TurboTax
TurboTax actually handles this pretty well—as long as you enter each 1099-R separately. Here’s how I did it:
Step-by-Step:
- Open your TurboTax return and go to the Retirement Income section.
- When it asks, “Did you receive a 1099-R?” say Yes.
- Enter the first 1099-R just as it appears—every box, exactly.
- After you’re done, TurboTax will ask if you want to add another 1099-R.
- Hit Yes, and enter the second one.
- Repeat for any others.
What to Watch For:
- Box 1: Gross distribution
- Box 2a: Taxable amount (this may be less than Box 1, especially in rollovers or Roth conversions)
- Box 7: Distribution code (this tells the IRS what kind of distribution it was)
- IRA/SEP/SIMPLE box: Must be checked if it’s from an IRA
TurboTax will use Box 7 to figure out how to tax it, and if a rollover was involved, it’ll ask follow-up questions like “Was this rolled over into another IRA or Roth?” Say yes if applicable—it’ll keep it from being taxed.
Example: Two Mutual Fund 1099-Rs
Let’s say I have mutual funds in:
- A Traditional IRA at Fidelity, and I took out $6,000
- A Roth IRA at Vanguard, and I withdrew $4,000
So I get:
- A 1099-R from Fidelity with Box 1 = 6000, Box 2a = 6000, Box 7 = 7 (normal distribution)
- A 1099-R from Vanguard with Box 1 = 4000, Box 2a = 0 (qualified Roth distribution), Box 7 = J
TurboTax walks me through both and only taxes the Traditional IRA one, assuming I qualify for the Roth withdrawal.
Can You Combine 1099-Rs?
No, don’t combine them manually. Even if they’re for the same fund company or the same type of account, you need to enter them separately, exactly how they were issued. Each 1099-R has its own identifying info and reporting code, and the IRS gets each copy directly.
What If One 1099-R Is Missing the Cost Basis?
That’s normal for retirement accounts—there’s usually no cost basis reported like there would be on a 1099-B. Instead, the taxable amount is what matters. TurboTax asks if it was:
- A rollover
- A Roth conversion
- A premature distribution
- A required distribution
Answering correctly helps TurboTax calculate the right tax (or none, if it’s qualified).
Final Tax Impact: Mutual Fund Type Doesn’t Matter
It doesn’t matter whether the distribution came from mutual funds, ETFs, or cash. The tax treatment is based on the type of retirement account and how the money was taken out, not the investment itself.
