Updated October 19, 2026. Quick answer: Form 1098-Q is sent by the issuer of a qualifying longevity annuity contract, known as a QLAC. Boxes 1a and 1b show what the annuity is scheduled to pay and when it is scheduled to start, and box 2 is checked if that start date may be moved up. Read them as a status report on the contract. The participant instructions explain what the form is for, and they say what each of these boxes shows.
What Form 1098-Q is and who gets it
The participant copy opens by saying where the information goes: “The information on this Form 1098-Q is submitted to the IRS by the issuer of your qualifying longevity annuity contract (QLAC) to report the status of the contract.” So the form comes from the company that issued the contract, not from your plan or from the IRS.
The same paragraph explains why a QLAC is treated differently from other holdings. It says that “Prior to annuitization, the value of any QLAC held by your plan or traditional IRA” “is not included when calculating the required minimum distribution (RMD) from your plan or IRA.” If you are reading this form while working out your yearly withdrawal, background on those withdrawals is on the required minimum distributions page and in RMD basics.
How often you receive it
You should not expect the form to arrive only once. The instructions say: “You will receive this statement annually beginning with the first year in which premiums are paid and ending with the earlier of the year in which you attain age 85 or die.”
They also cover a surviving spouse: “In the event of your death, if the sole beneficiary under the contract is your surviving spouse, this annual statement will be furnished to your surviving spouse until distributions commence, or if earlier, the year in which your surviving spouse dies.” The instructions describe an annual statement, and the later boxes show what happened in the reporting year.
The plan and account lines at the top
Before the numbered boxes, the form has three identifying items. For the account number the instructions say: “May show an account or other unique number the issuer assigned to distinguish your account.” For the plan lines they say it “Shows, if the contract was purchased under a plan, the number of the plan, the name of the plan, and the EIN of the plan sponsor.” If you bought the contract outside a plan, expect those lines to be blank or not to apply. Your contract issuer is the right contact for any mismatch: “If you have questions about your QLAC, contact the issuer at the address and phone number shown on the front of the form.”
Boxes 1a, 1b and 2 in one table
These three boxes describe the future payment, so they only have something to say while payments have not begun.
| Box | What the participant instructions say |
|---|---|
| Box 1a | “Annuity amount on start date” is the form’s label. “If the payments have not started, shows the annuity amount payable on start date.” |
| Box 1b | “If the payments have not started, shows the date on which the annuity is scheduled to start.” |
| Box 1b format | “The date reported is shown in the format month, day, and year, mm/dd/yyyy.” |
| Box 2 | “If checked, shows that the start date may be accelerated.” |
Box 1a is a dollar amount and box 1b is a date, and the two go together: the amount is what is payable on the start date, and the start date is when that is scheduled to begin. Neither is a payment you received during the reporting year. What was paid into the contract during the year appears in the later boxes, covered in Form 1098-Q box 4 and boxes 5a to 5l, and the cumulative premium total is in Form 1098-Q box 3.
When box 2 is checked
The participant copy labels box 2 with a short phrase, “If checked, start date may be accelerated”, and the instructions repeat it as quoted above. The form does not say in that box why the date may be moved up or what would trigger it. If the box is checked and you want to know what that means for your contract, the issuer named at the top of the form is the party the instructions send you to. The idea that a QLAC leaves your RMD calculation until it starts paying is explained in more general terms in using a QLAC to reduce RMDs, and the dollar cap on premiums is on the QLAC limit page.
Edition and box numbers
This page reads Form 1098-Q (Rev. April 2025), the current file irs.gov served on 2026-10-19. Check the year and edition printed on the form you received, because box numbers can change between editions.
Common mistakes
- Treating box 1a as money you were paid this year. The instructions tie it to the start date: “If the payments have not started, shows the annuity amount payable on start date.”
- Assuming the start date in box 1b is certain when box 2 is marked. The instructions say a checked box 2 “shows that the start date may be accelerated.”
- Adding the QLAC’s value into your RMD calculation because the form arrived. The instructions say the value “is not included when calculating the required minimum distribution (RMD) from your plan or IRA.”
Related: the QLAC limit page, using a QLAC to reduce RMDs, required minimum distributions, and RMD basics.
Sources
- Form 1098-Q, Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contract Information (Rev. April 2025), with Instructions for Participant: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1098q.pdf
- IRS: About Form 1098-Q: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1098-q
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 19, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.