If Box 5 on a 1099-R is empty, does that mean that health insurance premiums for a self-employed retiree can be deducted on line 29 of the 1040? (Assumption: All other requirements for 1040 line 29 are met.)
Here are the facts:
- Retiree receives a pension from a former employer, is on Medicare, and has self-employed income.
- The 1040, line 29, allows a health insurance deduction with this exception: Amounts for any month you were eligible to participate in a health plan subsidized by an employer.
- Retiree's paystubs show monthly deductions for health insurance. No indication on the paystubs of any employer contribution.
- On the 1099-R, Box 5 is blank (see image and notes about image).
Image Notes:
- Boxes 1, 2a, and 14 match the gross annual income indicated on the pay stubs.
- Boxes 4 and 12 show taxes withheld at 20% more than needed (over withholding).
- Box 5 is empty. As I understand it, this is where any subsidized health insurance amount would appear, per the 1099-R instructions "Generally, this shows the employee’s investment in the contract (after-tax contributions), if any, recovered tax free this year"
- Box 7 has the code 7; the code means "Normal distribution," which I assume means there were no adjustments to the gross annual income.