Updated October 19, 2026. Quick answer: On Form RRB-1099-R, box 7 totals the pension paid and Publication 575 says which Form 1040 line to use for it. Box 8 shows repayments, box 9 the federal tax withheld, boxes 10 and 11 apply to nonresident aliens, and box 12 is the Medicare premium total, shown for information only.
Boxes 7 to 12 at a glance
Publication 575 takes the boxes in order, and the key sentence for each is below.
| Box | What Publication 575 says |
|---|---|
| Box 7 | “This is the sum of boxes 4, 5, and 6.” “Include this amount on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 5a.” |
| Box 8 | “The amount shown in this box hasn’t been deducted from the amounts shown in boxes 4, 5, and 6.” |
| Box 9 | “This is the total federal income tax withheld from your NSSEB, tier 2 benefit, VDB, and supplemental annuity benefit.” “Include this on your income tax return as tax withheld.” |
| Box 10 | “If you are a nonresident alien, an entry in this box indicates the rate at which tax was withheld” |
| Box 11 | “If you are a nonresident alien, an entry in this box indicates the country of which you were a resident for tax purposes” |
| Box 12 | “This is for information purposes only.” |
The earlier boxes are explained in Form RRB-1099-R boxes 3 and 4 and Form RRB-1099-R boxes 5 and 6, and the overview is in the Form RRB-1099-R boxes guide.
Box 7: total gross paid and the return line
Box 7 is a sum of three boxes already on the form. The publication adds “The amount represents the total pension paid in 2025.” The line it names for that total is the one quoted in the table above, and the line itself is explained on Form 1040 lines 5a and 5b.
Box 8: repayments are shown separately
Box 8 is the one box that does not feed the total. The publication limits what it includes: “It only includes repayments of benefits that were taxable to you.” It then gives the reasoning behind a possible deduction: “If you included the benefits in your income in the year you received them, you may be able to deduct the repaid amount.”
A separate passage on repaying benefits received in an earlier year sets out the rule: “you can deduct the amount you repaid in the year in which you repaid it.” For a larger repayment the publication says: “If you repaid more than $3,000 in 2025, you can either take a deduction for the amount repaid on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 16, or you can take a credit against your tax.” For the details the publication sends readers to Publication 525. The related earlier-year boxes on the other RRB form are described in RRB-1099 boxes 7, 8 and 9.
Box 9: tax withheld and the forms to change it
The publication names the form for changing withholding on this category of benefits: “To elect, revoke, or change your income tax withholding from NSSEB, tier 2, VDB, and supplemental annuity payments received, use Form RRB W-4P.”
It names a different form for the social security equivalent portion: “To request or change your income tax withholding from SSEB payments, U.S. citizens should contact the IRS for Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request, and file it with the RRB.” If you get more than one form, the publication explains how to total the box: “Determine the total amount of U.S. federal income tax withheld” “by adding the amounts in box 9 of all original 2025 Forms RRB-1099-R”. The Form W-4P page covers the withholding form used for other pensions.
Boxes 10 and 11: nonresident aliens
These two boxes matter only to some recipients. Box 10 shows the rate and box 11 the country, and for each the publication ends by saying “If you are taxed as a U.S. citizen or resident alien, this box doesn’t apply to you.” A nonresident alien who changes rate or country during the year can receive several forms: “you will receive a separate Form RRB-1099-R for each rate change during 2025.” Related boxes on the other railroad form are in RRB-1099 boxes 10 and 11.
Box 12: Medicare premium total
The publication says the box total is “the total amount of Medicare Part B premiums deducted from your railroad retirement annuity payments in” the form’s year. It also says “Medicare premium refunds aren’t included in the Medicare total.” Because the box is information only, it is not an entry for the return. If the premiums came out of a different benefit, the publication notes your total will not be in this box.
Edition and box numbers
This page reads the IRS’s description of Form RRB-1099-R in Publication 575 for 2025 returns (the box numbers and labels printed there). The form itself is issued by the Railroad Retirement Board, not the IRS, so the year and layout on the form you received govern; check the year printed on it.
Common mistakes
- Adding box 8 to or subtracting it from the box 7 total. The publication says “The amount shown in this box hasn’t been deducted from the amounts shown in boxes 4, 5, and 6.”
- Using the wrong form to change withholding. The publication says to “use Form RRB W-4P.” for this category of benefits.
- Looking for a return entry for box 12. The publication says “This is for information purposes only.”
Related: Form 1040 lines 5a and 5b, RRB-1099 boxes 7, 8 and 9, RRB-1099 boxes 10 and 11, and Form W-4P.
Sources
- Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income (2025 returns): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p575.pdf
- IRS: About Publication 575: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-575
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.