Do I need a 1099-R for my John Hancock 401K account?
Title: Do I need a 1099-R for my John Hancock 401K account? 1 I'm trying to get all my tax stuff together early this year but I'm not sure if I'm missing something important. I have most of my tax documents already but nothing has shown up from my John Hancock 401K account. I honestly can't remember if I've ever gotten anything from them in previous years either. When I log into my account online, I can see quarterly statements and performance reports, but there's nothing that looks like year-end tax information anywhere. So my main question is - do I need a 1099-R form for my 401k? Should I be expecting one in the mail or is there somewhere I need to download it from their website? I don't want to file without something important and then get in trouble later!
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Isaiah Cross
8 You only receive a 1099-R if you took a distribution from your 401k during the tax year. If you just had regular contributions going in and didn't withdraw any money, you won't get a 1099-R. Your regular 401k contributions are already reflected on your W-2 - they reduce your taxable income in Box 1. If you have a Roth 401k component, those contributions are still included in your taxable wages since they're made with after-tax dollars. So unless you took money out (including loans that weren't repaid), rolled over funds to another account, or received some other distribution, you shouldn't expect to receive a 1099-R from John Hancock.
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Isaiah Cross
•12 What about the growth/interest that accumulated in the account throughout the year? I thought that had to be reported somewhere.
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Isaiah Cross
•8 Growth and earnings inside your 401k aren't taxable until you withdraw the money. That's one of the main benefits of tax-advantaged retirement accounts - the growth compounds without being taxed each year. The only time you'll see tax forms related to your 401k is when money moves in or out of the account in certain ways (primarily withdrawals or rollovers). Your regular contributions are already handled through your W-2 reporting.
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Isaiah Cross
5 I had this same issue with my John Hancock 401k last year! I was panicking about my taxes until I realized that you only get a 1099-R if you actually took money out of your 401k. If you're just contributing to it regularly through your paycheck and not withdrawing, there's no 1099-R needed. I found this great tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure this out. It analyzes all your tax documents and tells you what's missing or what you don't actually need. Saved me so much stress because I was about to delay filing thinking I was missing something important!
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Isaiah Cross
•14 Does taxr.ai work with state returns too? I'm always confused about which forms apply to federal vs state.
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Isaiah Cross
•19 I'm skeptical... how does it actually know what forms you should have received? Seems like it would need to know all your financial accounts and sources of income to do that correctly.
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Isaiah Cross
•5 Yes, it actually handles both federal and state returns! It asks questions about your situation and then tells you exactly which forms you should expect for both levels. Super helpful if you've moved states during the tax year too. It actually works by analyzing what you've already uploaded and then comparing that to your answers about income sources, accounts, and life situations. It will flag if it notices you mentioned having a 401k but don't have your W-2 uploaded yet, or if you have investment accounts but no 1099-INT or 1099-DIV forms. It's pretty thorough about checking for gaps in your documentation.
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Isaiah Cross
14 Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai that the previous commenter recommended. It was actually really helpful! I uploaded my W-2 and it confirmed I didn't need a 1099-R for my 401k since I hadn't taken any distributions. It also caught that I was missing a 1099-INT from my savings account that I totally forgot about. Definitely made me feel more confident that I'm not missing anything before filing.
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Isaiah Cross
7 If you're still worried and want to double-check, you can always call the IRS directly to verify what forms you need - but good luck getting through! I spent HOURS on hold last year trying to confirm something about my 401k rollover. Finally found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes. They have a demo video here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c showing how it works. Basically they navigate the phone tree and wait on hold for you, then call you when an agent is ready. I was super skeptical but was desperate after waiting on hold for 2+ hours myself.
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Isaiah Cross
•3 Wait, how does that even work? Do they patch you through somehow? Seems like the IRS wouldn't allow third parties to transfer calls.
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Isaiah Cross
•19 This sounds like a scam. The IRS phone system is deliberately understaffed. No way some random service can magically get you through faster than anyone else.
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Isaiah Cross
•7 It's not call transferring - they use call technology to navigate the phone system and wait on hold in your place. When they reach a human agent, they call your number and connect the calls. I was definitely skeptical too at first! But it's not about "cutting the line" - they're still waiting in the same queue as everyone else. The difference is their system is doing the waiting instead of you having to stay on the phone for hours. The IRS doesn't know or care who's listening to their hold music, and when you get connected, you're the one talking directly to the agent.
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Isaiah Cross
19 I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I was still stuck with a question about my retirement accounts that the IRS website couldn't answer. Decided to try the service thinking it wouldn't work... but they actually got me through to someone at the IRS in about 15 minutes! Agent confirmed I didn't need any forms for my 401k since I hadn't taken distributions. Saved me hours of frustration and hold music. Sometimes being proven wrong is actually a good thing!
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Isaiah Cross
22 Just a quick tip from experience - John Hancock's website is terrible for finding tax documents. If you did take a distribution and need a 1099-R, they might have it buried under "Statements & Documents" and then "Tax Forms" but sometimes they put it in a separate section entirely. Their search function is worthless too. You might need to call their customer service directly if you can't find what you're looking for.
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Isaiah Cross
•1 Thanks for this! I actually did take a small hardship withdrawal back in August that I completely forgot about! I'll check that section of the website. If they did send a 1099-R for that distribution but I can't find it online, how long do you think it would take to get a replacement?
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Isaiah Cross
•22 If you took a hardship withdrawal, you will definitely get a 1099-R and it's important to include it on your tax return. Those forms should be available by January 31st. If you can't find it online, call John Hancock directly - they can usually email you a replacement copy immediately. If for some reason they say they have to mail it, it typically takes 7-10 business days to arrive. But honestly, with most providers these days, they can send an electronic copy right away if you speak to the right department.
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Isaiah Cross
16 Am I the only one who finds all these different tax forms completely overwhelming? I never know what I actually need and what I don't. I'm always afraid I'm going to miss something important and get audited.
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Isaiah Cross
•10 You're definitely not alone! I started using TaxAct last year and it actually walks you through everything step by step and asks all the right questions to make sure you're not missing anything. Way less stressful than trying to figure it all out myself.
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