U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

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Instructions for Form 8915

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2008

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Instructions for Form 8915
Qualified Hurricane Retirement Plan Distributions and Repayments
Section references are to the Internal
Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

would otherwise file Form 1040, 1040A,
or 1040NR.

General Instructions

How is a Qualified
Hurricane Distribution
Taxed?

What’s New
Tax relief for the Kansas disaster area.
Special rules apply to the use of
retirement funds by qualified individuals
who suffered an economic loss in the
Kansas disaster area as a result of the
storms and tornadoes that began on May
4, 2007. See Publication 4492-A,
Information for Taxpayers Affected by the
May 4, 2007, Kansas Storms and
Tornadoes, for more information.

Purpose of Form
Use Form 8915 if you were adversely
affected by Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or
Wilma, and you received a distribution
that qualifies for favorable tax treatment.

Parts I and II
Use Parts I and II to:
• Report any repayments of qualified
hurricane distributions, and
• Figure the taxable amount, if any, of
your qualified hurricane distributions.
Note. Distributions from retirement plans
(other than IRAs) are reported in Part I
and distributions from IRAs are reported
in Part II.

Additional Information
See Pub. 4492, Information for Taxpayers
Affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and
Wilma, for more details.

Who Must File
File Form 8915 if any of the following
apply.
• You received a qualified hurricane
distribution from an eligible retirement
plan in 2006 that you are including in
income in equal amounts over 3 years.
• You made a repayment of a qualified
hurricane distribution in 2008.
If you were affected by the Kansas

TIP storms and tornadoes that began
on May 4, 2007, see Pub. 4492-A
to determine what version of Form 8915
you must file.

When and Where to File
File Form 8915 with your 2008 Form
1040, 1040A, or 1040NR. If you are not
required to file an income tax return but
are required to file Form 8915, sign Form
8915 and send it to the Internal Revenue
Service at the same time and place you

Generally, a qualified hurricane
distribution is included in your income in
equal amounts over 3 years. However,
you could have elected to include the
entire distribution in your income in the
year of the distribution. Any repayments
made before you file your return and by
the due date (including extensions)
reduce the amount of the distribution
included in your income.
Also, qualified hurricane distributions
are not subject to the additional 10% tax
on early distributions.

!

You cannot take a qualified
hurricane distribution after 2006.

CAUTION

Qualified Hurricane
Distribution
A qualified hurricane distribution is any
distribution you received in 2005 or 2006
from an eligible retirement plan if both of
the following conditions were met.
1. Your main home was located in a
hurricane disaster area listed below on
the date shown for that area.
a. August 28, 2005, for the Hurricane
Katrina disaster area. For this purpose,
that area includes the states of Alabama,
Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
b. September 23, 2005, for the
Hurricane Rita disaster area. For this
purpose, that area includes the states of
Louisiana and Texas.
c. October 23, 2005, for the Hurricane
Wilma disaster area. For this purpose,
that area includes the state of Florida.
2. You sustained an economic loss
because of Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or
Wilma, and your main home was in that
hurricane disaster area on the date in (1)
above for that hurricane. Examples of an
economic loss include, but are not limited
to (a) loss, damage to, or destruction of
real or personal property from fire,
flooding, looting, vandalism, theft, wind, or
other cause; (b) loss related to
displacement from your home; or (c) loss
of livelihood due to temporary or
permanent layoffs.
If (1) and (2) applied, you could have
generally designated any distribution in
2005 or 2006 (including periodic
payments and required minimum
Cat. No. 48411X

distributions) from an eligible retirement
plan as a qualified hurricane distribution,
regardless of whether the distribution was
made on account of Hurricane Katrina,
Rita, or Wilma. Qualified hurricane
distributions were permitted without
regard to your need or the actual amount
of your economic loss.
A reduction or offset in 2005 or 2006 of
your account balance in an eligible
retirement plan in order to repay a loan
also could have been designated as a
qualified hurricane distribution. See
Distribution of plan loan offsets below.
Limit. The total of your qualified
hurricane distributions for 2005 and 2006
from all plans was limited to $100,000. If
you had distributions in excess of
$100,000 from more than one type of
plan, such as a 401(k) plan and an IRA,
you could have allocated the $100,000
limit among the plans any way you chose.
Eligible retirement plan. An eligible
retirement plan can be any of the
following.
• A qualified pension, profit-sharing, or
stock bonus plan (including a 401(k)
plan).
• A qualified annuity plan.
• A tax-sheltered annuity contract.
• A governmental section 457 deferred
compensation plan.
• A traditional, SEP, SIMPLE, or Roth
IRA.
Distribution of plan loan offsets. A
distribution of a plan loan offset is a
distribution that occurs when, under the
terms of a plan, the participant’s accrued
benefit is reduced (offset) in order to
repay a loan. A distribution of a plan loan
offset amount can occur for a variety of
reasons, such as when a participant
terminates employment or does not
comply with the terms of repayment. Plan
loan offsets are treated as actual
distributions and are reported on Form
1099-R, box 1.
Main home. Generally, your main home
is the home where you live most of the
time. A temporary absence due to special
circumstances, such as illness, education,
business, military service, evacuation, or
vacation, will not change your main home.
Additional tax. Qualified hurricane
distributions were not subject to the
additional 10% tax (or the 25% additional
tax for certain distributions from SIMPLE
IRAs) on early distributions and are not
required to be reported on Form 5329.
However, any distributions you received
in excess of the $100,000 qualified
hurricane distribution limit may have been
subject to the additional tax.

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Instructions for Form 8915

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Note. If you chose to treat a distribution
as a qualified hurricane distribution, it is
not eligible for the 20% Capital Gain
Election or the 10-Year Tax Option. For
information on those options, see the
instructions for Form 4972.

Repayment of a Qualified
Hurricane Distribution
If you choose, you can generally repay
any portion of a qualified hurricane
distribution that is eligible for tax-free
rollover treatment to an eligible retirement
plan. Also, you can repay a qualified
hurricane distribution made on account of
hardship from a retirement plan.
However, see Exceptions below for
qualified hurricane distributions you
cannot repay.
You have 3 years from the day after
the date you received the distribution to
make a repayment. The amount of your
repayment cannot be more than the
amount of the original distribution.
Amounts that are repaid are treated as a
qualified rollover and are not included in
income. Also, for purposes of the
one-rollover-per-year limitation for IRAs, a
repayment to an IRA is not considered a
qualified rollover.
Include on Form 8915 any repayments
you make before filing your 2008 return.
Any repayments you make will reduce the
amount of qualified hurricane distributions
reported on your return for 2008. Do not
include on your 2008 Form 8915 any
repayments you make later than the due
date (including extensions) for filing your
2008 return. If you make a repayment in
2009 after you file your 2008 return, you
may be eligible to amend your 2006,
2007, or 2008 return. See Amending
Form 8915 later. Also, any excess
repayments you make for 2008 can be
carried back to your 2005, 2006, or 2007
return, if applicable.
Also file Form 8606 to report any
repayment of a nondeductible contribution
to a traditional IRA on line 1 of Form
8606. If you make a repayment of a
previously deductible contribution to a
traditional IRA, do not file Form 8606
solely because of such repayment. If you
make a repayment to a Roth IRA, see
Pub. 590 to figure your basis.
Exceptions. You cannot repay the
following types of distributions.
1. Qualified hurricane distributions
received as a beneficiary (other than a
surviving spouse).
2. Required minimum distributions.
3. Periodic payments (other than from
an IRA) that are for:
a. A period of 10 years or more,
b. Your life or life expectancy, or
c. The joint lives or life expectancies
of you and your beneficiary.

Amending Form 8915
If, after filing your original return, you
make a repayment, the repayment may
reduce the amount of your qualified
hurricane distributions reported on that

return. Depending on when a repayment
is made, you may need to file an
amended tax return to refigure your
taxable income.
If you make a repayment by the due
date of your original return (including
extensions), include the repayment on
your 2008 Form 8915.
If you make a repayment after the due
date of your original return (including
extensions), include the repayment on
your 2009 Form 8915. However, you may
file an amended return for 2006, 2007, or
2008 if either of the following applies.
• You elected to include all of your
qualified hurricane distributions in income
for 2006 (instead of over 3 years) on your
original return.
• You received a qualified hurricane
distribution in 2006 and included it in
income over 3 years. You can amend
your 2006, 2007, or 2008 return, if
applicable, to carry the repayment back.
See the example below.
Example. You received a qualified
hurricane distribution in the amount of
$90,000 on January 15, 2006. You
choose to spread the $90,000 over 3
years ($30,000 in income for 2006, 2007,
and 2008). On November 19, 2008, you
make a repayment of $45,000. For 2008,
none of the qualified hurricane distribution
is included in income. The excess
repayment of $15,000 ($45,000 –
$30,000) can be carried back to 2006 or
2007.
File Form 1040X, Amended U.S.
Individual Income Tax Return, to amend a
return you have already filed. Generally,
Form 1040X must be filed within 3 years
after the date the original return was filed,
or within 2 years after the date the tax
was paid, whichever is later.

however, repay more than the amount of
the original distribution. See Repayment
of a Qualified Hurricane Distribution on
this page for details.
Enter on line 5 the amount of any
repayments you made before filing your
2008 return. Do not include any
repayments made later than the due date
(including extensions) for that return. If
you repaid more than the amount on line
1 (including any excess repayments from
2007 on line 4), the excess can be carried
back. Repayments made after the due
date of your 2008 return (including
extensions) generally will be reported on
your 2009 tax return. However, you may
have to file an amended return in certain
situations. See Amending Form 8915 on
this page.
Example. You received a $90,000
qualified hurricane distribution on August
7, 2006, from your 401(k) plan because of
Hurricane Wilma. On April 1, 2009, you
repay $30,000 to an IRA. You file your
return on April 10, 2009. Since the
repayment was made before you filed
your return, and not later than the due
date (including extensions), you would
enter the $30,000 repayment on line 5.

Part II—Qualified
Hurricane Distributions
From Traditional, SEP,
SIMPLE, and Roth IRAs
Complete Part II if any of the following
apply.
• You had an amount on your 2006 Form
8915, line 26, and you did not check the
box on that line.
• You made a repayment of a qualified
hurricane distribution.

Line 12

Specific Instructions
Name and social security number
(SSN). If you file a joint return, enter only
the name and SSN of the spouse whose
information is being reported on Form
8915. If both you and your spouse are
required to file Form 8915, file a separate
Form 8915 for each of you.

Part I—Qualified Hurricane
Distributions From
Retirement Plans (other
than IRAs)
Complete Part I if any of the following
apply.
• You had an amount on your 2006 Form
8915, line 11, and you did not check the
box on that line.
• You made a repayment of a qualified
hurricane distribution.

Line 5
At any time during the 3-year period after
the date you received a qualified
hurricane distribution, you can repay any
portion of the distribution to an eligible
retirement plan that is permitted to accept
rollover contributions. You cannot,

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At any time during the 3-year period after
the date you received a qualified
hurricane distribution, you can repay any
portion of the distribution to an eligible
retirement plan that is permitted to accept
rollover contributions. You cannot,
however, repay more than the amount of
the original distribution. See Repayment
of a Qualified Hurricane Distribution on
this page for details.
Enter on line 12 the amount of any
repayments you made before filing your
2008 return. Do not include any
repayments made later than the due date
(including extensions) for that return. If
you repaid more than the amount on line
8 (including any excess repayments from
2007 on line 11), the excess can be
carried back. Repayments made after the
due date of your 2008 return (including
extensions) generally will be reported on
your 2009 tax return. However, you may
have to file an amended return in certain
situations. See Amending Form 8915 on
page 2.
Example. You received a $60,000
qualified hurricane distribution on July 1,
2006, from your Roth IRA because of
Hurricane Katrina. On April 1, 2009, you
repay $30,000 to your Roth IRA. You file
your return on April 10, 2009. Since the

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Instructions for Form 8915

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The type and rule above prints on all proofs including departmental reproduction proofs. MUST be removed before printing.

repayment was made before you filed
your return, and not later than the due
date (including extensions), you would
enter the $30,000 repayment on line 12.
Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction
Act Notice. We ask for the information
on this form to carry out the Internal
Revenue laws of the United States. We
need this information to ensure that you
are complying with these laws and to
allow us to figure and collect the right
amount of tax. You are required to give us
this information if you made certain
contributions or received certain
distributions from qualified plans,
including IRAs, and other tax-favored
accounts. Our legal right to ask for the
information requested on this form is
sections 6001, 6011, 6012(a), and 6109
and their regulations. The reason we

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The average time and expenses
required to complete and file this form will
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averages, see the instructions for your
income tax return.
If you have suggestions for making this
form simpler, we would be happy to hear
from you. See the instructions for your
income tax return.