Form 5498 Overview¶
Typical Process Flow¶
You will typically follow the steps below when working with 5498 statements:
- Add (upload) new statements.
- Review the statements. The review may take the form of a programmatic inspection of the data elements, printing and proofreading draft statements, or both.
- Update statement data. Make any changes that are required after reviewing the statements.
- Delete statements. Delete any unnecessary statements that you determine are no longer needed.
- Finalize statements. Prepare statements for distribution to recipients by marking them as final. Finalizing statements removes the draft watermark. It is also the point in the process at which OtterTax charges its fee for processing the statements.
- Submit statements. Electronically transmit statements to the tax authority, either the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the Social Security Administration (SSA). Skip this step if you do not wish to submit your statements.
- Check status. Check the status of statements after they have been submitted to ensure they were accepted by the tax authority.
Supported Operations¶
Generally speaking, operations are performed on the generic statement object whenever possible and only on the distinct 5498 object when access to that form's specific data fields is required. For example, delete operations are performed against the statement object, because a 5498 statement can be deleted in the same manner as any other statement type. Update operations, however, are performed against a 5498 data object because the data fields on a 5498 are different than those on other forms.
See this discussion on design philosphy for more information on generic versus distinct data objects.
The operations supported for form 5498 are listed below.
| Operation | Description | Query or Mutation | Operates On | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add statements | Upload new 5498 statements | addF5498Statements | Distinct object | |
| Review statements | Retrieve existing 5498 statements | getF5498Statements | Distinct object | Use when retrieving information specific to 5498 statements, for example, iraContributions. |
| Review statements | Retrieve existing statements | getStatements | Generic object | Use when retrieving information common to all statements, for example, the PDF copy of the statement or the current statement status. |
| Update statements | Update information on existing statements. | updateF5498Statements | Distinct object | |
| Delete statements | Remove statements from the OtteTax system. | deleteStatements | Generic object | |
| Finalize statements | Remove watermark from statements and mark them as final. | finalizeStatements | Generic object | |
| Submit statements | Transmit statment data to the tax authority, either the IRS or the SSA. | submitStatements | Generic object |