Government Retirement 1099-R Question

[thomtax]

Client retired from U S Government, received a 1099R. The following figures are in the listed boxes:

Box 1 Gross Distribution 22728.00
Box 2A Taxable amount 22429.44
Box 5 Employee Contributions/Designated ROTH Contributions or Insurance Premiums 5237.86
Box 9b Total Employee Contributions 8958.00

Client thinks box 5 is health insurance premiums they are paying. I have looked at several different
definitions from google. They seem to conflict, but some are saying that it is the difference between
Gross in box 1 and taxable in box 2A. This is obviously not the case here. I have tried looking at the
website but there is nothing I can find about box 9b compared with box 5.

Can some of you experts shed any light on this for me?

Thanks

[Roland Slugg]

Well, $298.56 of that represents the retiree's basis recovery ... 1/30th (12/360) of his total contributions ($8,958 ÷ 360 × 12). This is the required contribution recovery period for a retiree age 55 or less. (Code §72(d)(1)(B)(iii)) (If paid over the lives of two people, the periods are a little different.)

The rest of that $5,237.86 may very well be health insurance premiums, but it doesn't matter because it is non-taxable. If you enter the amounts on the correct lines of your tax prep software, you should see $22,728 ending up on F-1040, line 16a and $22,429 on line 16b.