How do I report Nondeductible contributions to traditional IRAs in TaxSlayer for 2024?
I'm currently filling out my 2024 return using TaxSlayer and have completed Form 8606 to report Nondeductible contributions I made to my traditional IRAs in early 2025. I contributed about $7,000 to my traditional IRA in January, knowing I'd apply it to my 2024 taxes. The thing is, I can't figure out if TaxSlayer automatically e-files Form 8606 with my federal return or if I need to print it out and mail it separately. The software isn't super clear about this, and I don't want to mess up since I know tracking the basis is important. My plan is to eventually convert these funds to a Roth IRA (probably later this year), so I want to make sure everything is properly recorded from the start. Has anyone gone through this process with TaxSlayer before? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
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Victoria Scott
TaxSlayer will e-file Form 8606 along with your federal tax return - you don't need to mail it separately. The form is specifically designed to track non-deductible contributions to traditional IRAs, which is crucial for when you eventually convert to a Roth. Make sure you double-check that the form shows your contribution was made for tax year 2024 (even though you physically made the contribution in 2025, which is allowed up until the filing deadline). This establishes your basis in the IRA, which will be important when you do the Roth conversion to avoid being taxed twice on the same money. Once you've filed, keep a copy of your Form 8606 in your permanent tax records. You'll need to reference your cumulative nondeductible contributions (your basis) when you convert to a Roth or make withdrawals in the future.
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Benjamin Johnson
•If I made nondeductible contributions for multiple years but never filed a Form 8606 before, can I file those previous years now? Or am I basically out of luck on establishing that basis?
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Victoria Scott
•You should definitely file Form 8606 for any previous years you made nondeductible contributions but didn't report them. The IRS requires you to file this form for any year you make nondeductible contributions, take distributions from a traditional IRA when you have basis, or convert traditional IRA funds to Roth. For prior years, you'll need to file a separate Form 8606 for each tax year (don't combine multiple years on one form). You don't need to file an entire amended return - just send in the completed Form 8606 for each applicable year along with a brief explanation letter. There may be a penalty of $50 for each Form 8606 you failed to file, but establishing your proper basis is worth it to avoid double taxation later.
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Zara Perez
After struggling with a similar situation last year, I found this amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that saved me tons of headaches with my nondeductible IRA contributions. I spent hours trying to figure out how TaxSlayer handled Form 8606 and was getting paranoid I'd mess something up, especially since I was planning a backdoor Roth. The tool analyzed all my tax documents, including my Form 5498 from my IRA custodian, and explained exactly how to enter everything in TaxSlayer. It even flagged that I had incorrectly entered some information that would have caused problems with my basis tracking. Seriously, it made the whole process so much easier!
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Daniel Rogers
•Does this work with other tax software too? I'm using FreeTaxUSA this year but have nondeductible contributions from previous years when I used TaxSlayer. Wondering if it could help me get everything organized.
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Aaliyah Reed
•I'm skeptical about using another service when I'm already paying for TaxSlayer. Does it actually check your entries or just give general advice that I could find on YouTube? And is there any risk with uploading my tax docs to another site?
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Zara Perez
•It works with all the major tax prep software including FreeTaxUSA, TurboTax, H&R Block, and TaxSlayer. It's especially helpful when switching between platforms since it helps ensure your basis tracking remains consistent. The tool goes way beyond general advice - it actually reviews your specific tax documents and entries. It identified that I had accidentally entered a rollover as a contribution which would have messed up my basis calculations. As for security, they use bank-level encryption and don't store your documents after analysis. I was concerned about that too, but they explain their security measures on their site.
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Daniel Rogers
Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai for my nondeductible IRA reporting situation! I uploaded my previous year's returns along with my current documents, and it immediately identified that I had missed filing Form 8606 for two previous years when I made nondeductible contributions. The tool guided me through exactly how to file the missing forms and even explained how to calculate my cumulative basis correctly. This was super important because I'm planning a Roth conversion next month and would have definitely paid too much in taxes without this correction. It also confirmed that FreeTaxUSA will e-file my current year Form 8606 automatically - one less thing to worry about!
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Ella Russell
If you're having trouble getting clear answers about your Form 8606 questions, I'd recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to actually talk to someone at the IRS directly. I had similar questions last year about reporting nondeductible IRA contributions from multiple years, and after hours of trying to call the IRS myself, I gave up. Then I found Claimyr, watched their demo (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c), and they got me connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes! The agent confirmed exactly how to handle my situation and gave me peace of mind that I was doing it correctly. The waiting music wasn't even that bad lol.
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Mohammed Khan
•How exactly does this work? I thought it was impossible to get through to the IRS these days. Is this just scheduling a callback or something?
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Aaliyah Reed
•Yeah right. Nothing gets you through to the IRS faster. They're backed up by MONTHS. No way some random service is magically getting people to the front of the line. Sounds like a scam to me.
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Ella Russell
•It's not a scheduling system - they actually use technology to navigate the IRS phone tree and wait on hold for you. When they reach a live agent, they call you and connect you immediately. It's basically like having someone wait on hold so you don't have to. I was super skeptical too! I tried calling the IRS myself multiple times and kept getting the "due to high call volume" message before being disconnected. With Claimyr, I just entered my phone number, and they called me when they reached an agent. I spoke directly with an IRS employee who answered all my Form 8606 questions. It's not a scam - they're just using technology to solve the hold time problem.
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Aaliyah Reed
I'm back to eat my words about Claimyr. After dismissing it as a probable scam, I decided to give it a shot since I was desperate for answers about my backdoor Roth situation with multiple years of nondeductible contributions. I'm still shocked, but they actually got me through to an IRS tax specialist in about 20 minutes! The agent walked me through exactly how to handle Form 8606 for my situation and confirmed that TaxSlayer will e-file it automatically. They even explained how to fix my previous years' missing forms without penalties. I've been stressing about this for weeks, and now I feel completely confident about my filing. Sometimes being proven wrong is actually awesome.
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Gavin King
Make sure you keep copies of ALL your Form 8606s forever! I learned this the hard way. When I did my Roth conversion last year, I couldn't find my old forms showing my nondeductible contributions from previous years. The IRS doesn't keep track of your basis for you - that's 100% on you to prove. Without proof of those prior nondeductible contributions, I ended up paying tax AGAIN on money I had already paid tax on. It was about $3,400 in unnecessary taxes! Now I scan every Form 8606 and keep digital copies in multiple places.
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Nathan Kim
•Does the IRS really not have any record of previously filed 8606 forms? Couldn't you request transcripts or something to prove what you submitted in prior years?
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Gavin King
•The IRS does have records of your filed forms, but getting them can be a huge hassle. You can request tax transcripts, but they often don't show the detailed information from all attachments and forms. In my case, the transcripts showed I filed Form 8606 but didn't show the specific amounts of nondeductible contributions. I did eventually get copies of my old returns through a formal request process, but it took almost 7 months - way too late for fixing that year's taxes. The IRS representative I spoke with actually recommended keeping my own permanent records of Form 8606 because of these exact issues. It's just so much easier to keep your own records than to try retrieving them from the IRS later.
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Eleanor Foster
Does anyone know if the same rules apply for backdoor Roth contributions? I've filled out Form 8606 for nondeductible traditional IRA contributions in TaxSlayer, but I already converted them to Roth a few weeks later. Do I need to wait until next year to report the conversion or do I report both the contribution and conversion on this year's taxes?
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Victoria Scott
•If you made a 2024 contribution to a traditional IRA and then converted it to a Roth in 2025, you'll report them separately. On your 2024 return (which you're filing now), you'll only report the nondeductible contribution on Form 8606 Part I. Then, on your 2025 return (which you'll file next year), you'll report the conversion on Form 8606 Parts I and II.
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Eleanor Foster
•Thanks for clearing that up! So I'll just report the contribution for now on my 2024 taxes, and deal with the conversion part when I file next year. That makes sense and is simpler than trying to report everything at once.
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Jamal Carter
Just wanted to add that when you do your Roth conversion later this year, make sure you understand the pro-rata rule if you have any other traditional IRA balances with pre-tax money. The IRS looks at ALL your traditional IRAs combined when calculating how much of your conversion is taxable. For example, if you have $7,000 in nondeductible contributions but also have $14,000 in a rollover IRA from an old 401k, only 1/3 of your conversion would be tax-free ($7,000 out of $21,000 total). This trips up a lot of people doing backdoor Roths. You might want to consider rolling any pre-tax IRA money back into a current 401k before converting to keep things clean.
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