Get ready for tax season
Review these items to prepare for tax season
Updated November 2024
Tax season is almost upon us again and you are probably starting to think about your 2024 tax return. As you prepare, please take a few moments to review the Tax Season Checklist.
Tax documents are mailed at different times for different types of investments and accounts, and you may receive more than one tax document package, depending on what you own. Each taxpayer within the same household will receive a separate tax package.
Remember to wait until you have received 2024 tax documents for all accounts with reportable activity before filing your 2024 tax returns.1
Tax season checklist
Did you move last year?
- Make sure employers and financial institutions have your current address, so you receive your tax documents on time. Many tax documents are available electronically.
Did you have a change in marital status last year?
- Make sure employers and financial institutions have your correct name and, if your name changed, that you have changed your name with the Social Security Administration.
Do you know how to find the cost basis for your investments, or to request updates?
Cost basis information is shown on an aggregate basis for many of your stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.
- On Form 1099-B (Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions). Cost basis on covered securities which were sold during the year may be found on Form 1099-B2.
- The lot-by-lot information for covered securities is also available on the secure site or mobile app. If you have questions about your cost basis on a lot-by-lot basis, please contact your advisor.
- For covered securities held in non-qualified accounts, basis can be found on the account details pages of your Ameriprise monthly/quarterly statements. Cost basis information is shown on an aggregate basis for many of your stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. This does not display cost basis on a lot-by-lot basis. However, for sales during a month or quarter, gain/loss information will be available for that period on that statement.
- Requests to update cost basis (brokerage) for covered securities for 2024 tax reporting must be received by Dec. 16, 2024, end of day. Requests received after this will be processed on a best-efforts basis.
- Certain cost basis update requests can be submitted using the Cost Basis Update form 402234 found on the ameriprise.com website.
Have you met your IRA contribution limit this year?
- You can make 2024 contributions to your IRA until April 15, 2025 through ameriprise.com, through your financial advisor, or with a client service representative at 800.862.7919.
- Contributions made between Jan. 1 and Apr. 15, 2025 can be designated for either 2024 or 2025. You designate the year when you make the contribution.
- If you do not indicate a tax year, it will be treated as a 2025 contribution.
Do you own Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Unit Investment Trusts (UITs) or mutual funds in non-retirement accounts?
- You may receive amended tax documents after you have received your year-end tax documents if Ameriprise receives updates from issuers of investments that you own. 3 Amendments may also be sent for other reasons including account corrections or cost basis updates.
- You may get multiple amended tax documents, depending on your investments.
- You may consider waiting until early April to file your tax returns to avoid refiling costs.
- You should discuss the tax implications of your investments with your financial advisor and your tax professional.
Do you own investments that are organized as a trust or partnership?
- If the partnership is held in a non-qualified account, you may receive the documents you need to file your tax returns (likely a Schedule K-1, Beneficiary’s/Partner’ Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc) directly from the trust or partnership. Unlike other investments you may own at Ameriprise Financial, we do not provide you with tax documents for trust or partnership investments if they produce a Schedule K-1.
- If the partnership is held in an IRA, Ameriprise Trust company as the custodian will review the Schedule K-1 information for any Unrelated Business Taxable Income (UBTI) reporting requirements and act accordingly.4
Do you own accounts that don’t earn much income?
- The IRS doesn’t generally require us to issue tax documents for accounts where less than $10 of income was earned during the year and there was no withholding and no sales of securities in the account.
- You may still need to report this income on your tax return. The total amount of income earned in your account(s) in 2024 is on your last financial statement for 2024 in the Value of Your Account section for brokerage accounts and in the Your Certificate Activity section for Ameriprise Certificates. Information is also on your Ameriprise annual statement (offered online only, it becomes available in late January on ameriprise.com).
Do you have access to, or have you received a statement for, all taxpayers in your client group, including minors and trusts?
- Compare names and account titles on tax documents to the monthly/quarterly account statements you received throughout the year to verify you have received all expected documents.
- Remember tax documents may arrive at different times, including possible amendments.
Do you know how to view your tax documents and other documents at ameriprise.com?5
- You can now sign up for e-delivery of your tax documents by registering on ameriprise.com.
- Log into your account and client on Profile > Communications Preferences and select “Tax Documents”.
- If you elect e-delivery of tax documents, we will send you an email when they become available for you to access online. We will not send you a printed copy in the mail.
- Tax information becomes available online at the same time we mail printed tax documents.
- Most tax documents are available on ameriprise.com.5
- Log into your account on ameriprise.com and select Documents to locate and view your tax documents.
- If you need to create an online account, visit ameriprise.com/register.
- You can import data from your tax documents into an electronic spreadsheet.
- You can save the spreadsheet to your computer and then import the data directly into tax preparation programs or online sites.
- You can find instructions and the link for the download tool at Ameriprise tax download FAQ
- Your 2024 tax package(s) have the login credentials to access the Ameriprise tax download: Package ID and Document ID.
- The Package ID and Document ID on amended tax packages will be the same as the original tax package. Any subsequent import using these login credentials will capture the most up-to-date tax data for all accounts with tax data available for download from that package, including updates.
- Remember, you may have more than one tax package.
- Only your current-year tax documents are available for download.
Or, request an appointment online to speak with an advisor.
At Ameriprise, the financial advice we give each of our clients is personalized, based on your goals and no one else's.
If you know someone who could benefit from a conversation, please refer me.
Background and qualification information is available at FINRA's BrokerCheck website.
• Determine if the limited partnership(s) in your IRA earned UBTI as reported from the K-1 issued by the partnership,
• File IRS Form 990-T, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return, to report UBTI of $1,000 or more,
• Pay the applicable tax from assets in the IRA, which is taxed at the “Tax Rate Schedule for Trusts” available on irs.gov in the IRS instructions for Form 990-T.