Tag Archives: federal income tax

1099-R Tax Forms Available Online

1099-R Tax Forms Available Online

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1099-R Tax Forms Available OnlineTax season is here. If you received a distribution of retirement benefits from NYSLRS last year and need to report it as income on your taxes, you don’t have to wait for the mail—1099-R tax forms are available online.

While NYSLRS pensions are not subject to New York State or local income tax, most are subject to federal income tax.

Beneficiaries who received a death benefit and members who took a taxable loan or withdrew their contributions may also be subject to federal income tax.

If NYSLRS is required to report your distribution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), we provide a 1099-R tax form to you for filing your taxes.

We distribute 1099-R tax forms annually based on your delivery preference:

  • Mail: We mail printed 1099-Rs by January 31. (Note: The default delivery preference is mail.)
  • Email: We make 1099-Rs available in Retirement Online sooner than printed copies are mailed—we will notify you by email in mid-January. (Note: You will not receive a printed 1099-R in the mail.)

Use Retirement Online to Get Your 1099-R

To view, save or print your 1099-R:

  • Sign in to Retirement Online.
  • Look under My Account Summary.
  • Click Manage My 1099-R Tax Forms button.
  • Select an option from Year dropdown. (Note: 2025, 2024 and 2023 are currently available online.)
  • Click Generate button.

If you have one 1099-R, the document will open in a new browser tab. If you have more than one 1099-R, the documents will compile into a zip file and download on to your computer. Go to your Downloads folder and double-click on the zip file to access the documents.

Please check your browser settings and disable pop-up blockers to ensure your 1099-R can be generated. By default, your browser may block pop-ups, which may prevent a new tab from opening or the file from downloading.

If you don’t have an account or for help signing in to an existing account, check out our Retirement Online Tools and Tips , for step-by-step instructions to register, reset your password, unlock your account and more.

Understanding Your 1099-R

Your tax form includes:

  • The total amount (before taxes and deductions) paid to you for the year indicated on the form.
  • The taxable portion of your benefit.
  • The amount of federal income tax withheld for the year indicated on the form and paid to the IRS on your behalf.

For more information, check out our interactive 1099-R guide. It walks you through a sample and offers a short explanation of each box on the form.

Get an Email Notification When 1099-R Tax Forms Are Available Online

You can get your 1099-R online sooner than printed copies are mailed. Update your delivery preference to email and when your 1099-R is available, we’ll send an email notifying you to sign in to Retirement Online.

  • Sign in to Retirement Online.
  • Look under My Profile Information.
  • Click update next to ‘1099-R Tax Form Delivery by.’
  • Choose Email from dropdown.

Be sure the email address listed in your Retirement Online account is current.

Note: If you choose email as your delivery preference, you will not receive a printed copy in the mail.

Federal Tax Withholding and Your Pension

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Most NYSLRS pensions are subject to federal income tax. If your last federal tax bill or return was not what you expected, Retirement Online makes it fast and convenient to update your federal tax withholding.

If you don’t have an account or for help signing in to an existing account, check out our Retirement Online tools and tips for step-by-step instructions to register, reset your password, unlock your account and more.

federal tax withholding and your pension

Understanding Your Federal Tax Withholding

NYSLRS is required to withhold federal income tax from your pension benefit at the default withholding status of “single with no adjustments” unless you inform us otherwise. The amount withheld is based on the information you provide to us on a W-4P Form (Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments).

Note: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revised its W-4P Form, which no longer allows tax filers to adjust their withholding by electing a specific number of allowances. To comply with IRS requirements, NYSLRS updated its tax withholding form accordingly. You do not need to submit a new W-4P Form to NYSLRS unless you want to change the amount withheld for federal income tax.

Effective January 1, 2023, NYSLRS does not withhold federal income tax from pension benefits that are not subject to tax reporting.

Estimate Your Federal Tax Withholding

The IRS has a new Tax Withholding Estimator which may help you estimate the federal income tax you want withheld from your pension. When using the tool, be sure to have your most recent tax return, pension pay stubs (available in Retirement Online) and other income information—your results will be based on the information you enter.

Use Retirement Online to Update Your Withholding

Retirement Online is the fastest and most convenient way to complete the W-4P Form and update your federal tax withholding for your NYSLRS pension.

If you update your federal tax withholding online by the middle of the month, your changes will generally be applied to that month’s pension payment.

For more information, including instructions for updating your withholding, visit our Taxes and Your Pension page.

If You Need Help

The NYSLRS form is based on the IRS form. If you need assistance completing the form:

If you’re not sure whether you need to adjust your federal tax withholding or if you have other tax questions, you may want to consult a tax preparer.