Updated October 19, 2026. Quick answer: Boxes 1 to 4 of Form 5498-QA are the money boxes: contributions made to the ABLE account during the year, rollovers in from another ABLE account, cumulative contributions, and the fair market value at the end of the year. The form goes to the beneficiary, who is told not to deduct the box 1 amounts and to keep track of basis.
What boxes 1 to 4 report
Form 5498-QA is the beneficiary’s statement of what went into the account. The instructions open with its purpose: “Form 5498-QA reports contributions, rollovers, and program-to-program transfers to this ABLE account for the calendar year shown on this form.”
It is a separate form from the distribution statement described in Form 1099-QA boxes 1 to 3 and Form 1099-QA boxes 4 to 6. That one reports what came out of the account. This one reports what went in, plus where the account stood at the end of the year. The remaining boxes, covering when the account was opened and why the beneficiary is eligible, are in Form 5498-QA boxes 5 to 8.
Box 1: ABLE contributions
The beneficiary instructions define it this way: “Shows the amount of contributions made to this ABLE account in the calendar year shown on this form.” “Do not deduct these amounts on your income tax return.”
The table sets out what the beneficiary copy and the issuer’s instructions put in the box, and what they leave out.
| Question | What the instructions say |
|---|---|
| What box 1 counts | “This amount includes all cash contributions and section 529 Qualified Tuition Program (QTP) to ABLE account rollovers, and QTP to ABLE program-to-program transfers.” |
| What the payer leaves out | “Total contributions do not include any excess contributions returned by the due date of the designated beneficiary’s income tax return (including extensions).” |
| Rollovers and transfers from another ABLE account | “Do not include the amount of any rollover or program-to-program transfer.” |
| A year with no contributions | “If no contributions were made during the calendar year, enter zero in this box.” |
The second row matters. An excess contribution that is corrected in time does not stay in the box 1 total. Whether a given contribution is excess depends on the annual limit, which is covered on the page about the ABLE account contribution limit. For amounts that start in a 529 plan, see 529 state tax benefits and the earned income requirement for 529 rollovers.
The annual limit and excess contributions
The beneficiary instructions state the rule that box 1 is read against: “The total amount contributed to your ABLE account may not exceed the annual cumulative limit.” They send the reader to a publication for the number itself: “See Contribution Limitation in Pub. 907 for the current-year annual contribution limit.”
What happens when the box 1 total is too high is stated in the next sentence: “If amounts contributed to your ABLE account are greater than the annual contribution limit, the excess contributions and the earnings on those contributions must be returned to the contributors by the date your tax return is due (including extensions), or you may owe a penalty.” “Check with your ABLE program to verify that excess contributions and earnings are returned timely.”
From the program’s side, the rule is that a qualified program must return “an excess contribution or excess aggregate contribution (including all net income attributable to that excess contribution or excess aggregate contribution) to the person who made the contribution” by the same return due date. The returned money and its earnings then show up on a Form 1099-QA issued to the contributor, as described in Form 1099-QA boxes 1 to 3.
Box 2: ABLE to ABLE rollovers
Box 2 is for money that arrives from another ABLE account. The beneficiary instructions say: “Shows the amount of any rollover or program-to-program transfer made to this ABLE account from another ABLE account in the calendar year shown on this form.”
The issuer is told to “Enter the amount of any rollover or program-to-program transfer to this ABLE account from another ABLE account during the calendar year.” “Do not include any contributions from a section 529 program.” That split explains why the 529 rollovers sit in box 1 and the ABLE to ABLE moves sit in box 2.
On the tax treatment, the beneficiary instructions say only this: “Generally, any amount rolled over from one ABLE account to another ABLE account for the benefit of the named beneficiary or of an eligible individual who is a member of the beneficiary’s family who is described in section 152(d)(2)(B) is not taxable.”
Box 3: cumulative contributions
Box 3 is optional for the issuer, so it can be blank on your form. The beneficiary instructions say: “May show the cumulative amount contributed since the establishment of the ABLE account”. The issuer’s instructions give the same permission: “You may, but are not required to, enter the amount of cumulative contributions to this ABLE account.”
Box 3 also reaches back before the current account. Its total includes “amounts contributed to an ABLE account for the same designated beneficiary that was rolled over, or directly transferred (in a program-to-program transfer), to the current ABLE account.”
Box 4: fair market value and keeping track of basis
Box 4 is a year-end snapshot. The beneficiary instructions say it “Shows the fair market value (FMV) of the ABLE account as of the end of the year.” The issuer’s version is “Enter the FMV of the account as of December 31.”
The instructions also give the beneficiary a task that a statement alone cannot do: “You must keep track of your ABLE account basis (contributions and distributions).” Keep each year’s Form 5498-QA for that purpose, and keep the Form 1099-QA statements, whose box 3 reports basis on the way out.
Edition and box numbers
This page follows Form 5498-QA (Rev. December 2026) and the instructions printed with it. Check the year and edition printed on the form you received, because box numbers can change between editions. For who can hold an account, see the ABLE account age 46 rule.
Common mistakes
- Deducting the contributions. The beneficiary instructions say “Do not deduct these amounts on your income tax return.”
- Waiting too long on an excess amount. The beneficiary instructions say the excess and its earnings “must be returned to the contributors by the date your tax return is due (including extensions)”
- Treating box 3 as always present. The issuer’s instructions say “You may, but are not required to, enter the amount of cumulative contributions to this ABLE account.”
Related: the ABLE account contribution limit, the ABLE account age 46 rule, 529 state tax benefits, and the earned income requirement for 529 rollovers.
Sources
- Form 5498-QA, ABLE Account Contribution Information, with Instructions for Beneficiary: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5498qa.pdf
- Instructions for Forms 1099-QA and 5498-QA: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1099qa.pdf
- IRS: About Form 1099-QA: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1099-qa
- IRS: About Form 5498-QA: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5498-qa
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.