8880 Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions

Form

8880

Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

▶

▶ Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.
Go to www.irs.gov/Form8880 for the latest information.

CAUTION

2021

Attachment
Sequence No. 54
Your social security number

Name(s) shown on return

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OMB No. 1545-0074

You cannot take this credit if either of the following applies.
• The amount on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 11, is more than $33,000 ($49,500 if head of household; $66,000 if
married filing jointly).
• The person(s) who made the qualified contribution or elective deferral (a) was born after January 1, 2004; (b) is claimed as a
dependent on someone else’s 2021 tax return; or (c) was a student (see instructions).

(a) You
1
2

Traditional and Roth IRA contributions, and ABLE account contributions by the
designated beneficiary for 2021. Do not include rollover contributions . . . . .
Elective deferrals to a 401(k) or other qualified employer plan, voluntary employee
contributions, and 501(c)(18)(D) plan contributions for 2021 (see instructions) . .

3
4

Add lines 1 and 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Certain distributions received after 2018 and before the due date (including
extensions) of your 2021 tax return (see instructions). If married filing jointly, include
both spouses’ amounts in both columns. See instructions for an exception . . .

5
6
7
8
9

Subtract line 4 from line 3. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . .
In each column, enter the smaller of line 5 or $2,000 . . . .
Add the amounts on line 6. If zero, stop; you can’t take this credit
Enter the amount from Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 11*
Enter the applicable decimal amount from the table below.
If line 8 is—
Over—

But not
over—

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1
2
3

4
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5
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6
. . . .
8

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7

And your filing status is—
Married
filing jointly

Head of
household

Enter on line 9—

Single, Married filing
separately, or
Qualifying widow(er)

0.5
0.5
0.5
$19,750
0.5
0.5
0.2
$21,500
0.5
0.5
0.1
$29,625
0.5
0.2
0.1
$32,250
0.5
0.1
0.1
$33,000
0.5
0.1
0.0
$39,500
0.2
0.1
0.0
$43,000
0.1
0.1
0.0
$49,500
0.1
0.0
0.0
$66,000
--0.0
0.0
0.0
Note: If line 9 is zero, stop; you can’t take this credit.
Multiply line 7 by line 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Limitation based on tax liability. Enter the amount from the Credit Limit Worksheet in the instructions
Credit for qualified retirement savings contributions. Enter the smaller of line 10 or line 11 here
and on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
--$19,750
$21,500
$29,625
$32,250
$33,000
$39,500
$43,000
$49,500
$66,000

10
11
12

(b) Your spouse

9

x0.

10
11
12

* See Pub. 590-A for the amount to enter if you claim any exclusion or deduction for foreign earned income, foreign housing, or income from
Puerto Rico or for bona fide residents of American Samoa.

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see your tax return instructions.

Cat. No. 33394D

Form 8880 (2021)

Page 2

Form 8880 (2021)

General Instructions
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code.

Reminder
Contributions by a designated beneficiary to an Achieving a Better
Life Experience (ABLE) account. A retirement savings contribution
credit may be claimed for the amount of contributions you, as the
designated beneficiary of an ABLE account, make before January 1,
2026, to the ABLE account. See Pub. 907, Tax Highlights for Persons
With Disabilities, for more information.

Future Developments
For the latest information about developments related to Form 8880 and
its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were published,
go to www.irs.gov/Form8880.

Note: Contributions designated under section 414(h)(2) are treated as
employer contributions and, as such, they aren’t voluntary contributions
made by the employee. They don’t qualify for the credit and shouldn’t
be included on line 2.

Line 4
Enter the total amount of distributions you, and your spouse if filing
jointly, received after 2018 and before the due date of your 2021 return
(including extensions) from any of the following types of plans.
• Traditional or Roth IRAs, or ABLE accounts.
• 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b), 501(c)(18)(D), SEP, SIMPLE, or to
the federal TSP.
• Qualified retirement plans, as defined in section 4974(c).
Don’t include any of the following.

Purpose of Form

• Distributions not taxable as the result of a rollover or a trustee-totrustee transfer.

Use Form 8880 to figure the amount, if any, of your retirement savings
contributions credit (also known as the saver’s credit).

• Distributions that are taxable as the result of an in-plan rollover to your
designated Roth account.

TIP

This credit can be claimed in addition to any IRA deduction
claimed on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 20.

Who Can Take This Credit
You may be able to take this credit if you, or your spouse if filing jointly,
made (a) contributions (other than rollover contributions) to a traditional
or Roth IRA; (b) elective deferrals to a 401(k), 403(b), governmental
457(b), SEP, SIMPLE, or to the federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP); (c)
voluntary employee contributions to a qualified retirement plan, as
defined in section 4974(c) (including the federal TSP); (d) contributions
to a 501(c)(18)(D) plan; or (e) contributions, as a designated beneficiary
of an ABLE account, to the ABLE account, as defined in section 529A.
However, you can’t take the credit if either of the following applies.
• The amount on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 11, is more
than $33,000 ($49,500 if head of household; $66,000 if married filing
jointly).
• The person(s) who made the qualified contribution or elective deferral
(a) was born after January 1, 2004; (b) is claimed as a dependent on
someone else’s 2021 tax return; or (c) was a student.

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CAUTION

You’ll need to refigure the amount on Form 1040 or
1040-SR, line 11, if you’re filing Form 2555 or Form 4563 or
you’re excluding income from Puerto Rico. See Pub. 590-A
at www.irs.gov/Pub590A for details.

You were a student if during any part of 5 calendar months of 2021 you:

• Distributions from your eligible retirement plan (other than a Roth IRA)
rolled over or converted to your Roth IRA.
• Loans from a qualified employer plan treated as a distribution.
• Distributions of excess contributions or deferrals (and income
allocable to such contributions or deferrals).
• Distributions of contributions made to an IRA during a tax year and
returned (with any income allocable to such contributions) on or before
the due date (including extensions) for that tax year.
• Distributions of dividends paid on stock held by an employee stock
ownership plan under section 404(k).
• Distributions from a military retirement plan (other than the federal
TSP).
• Distributions from an inherited IRA by a nonspousal beneficiary.
If you’re filing a joint return, include both spouses’ amounts in both
columns.
Exception. Don’t include your spouse’s distributions with yours when
entering an amount on line 4 if you and your spouse didn’t file a joint
return for the year the distribution was received.
Example. You received a distribution of $5,000 from a qualified
retirement plan in 2021. Your spouse received a distribution of $2,000
from a Roth IRA in 2019. You and your spouse file a joint return in 2021,
but didn’t file a joint return in 2019. You would include $5,000 in column
(a) and $7,000 in column (b).

Line 7

• Were enrolled as a full-time student at a school; or

Add the amounts from line 6, columns (a) and (b), and enter the total.

• Took a full-time, on-farm training course given by a school or a state,
county, or local government agency.

Line 11

A school includes technical, trade, and mechanical schools. It
doesn’t include on-the-job training courses, correspondence schools, or
schools offering courses only through the Internet.

Before you complete the following worksheet, figure the amount of any
credit for the elderly or the disabled you’re claiming on Schedule 3
(Form 1040), line 6d. See Schedule R (Form 1040) to figure the credit.

Credit Limit Worksheet

Specific Instructions

Complete this worksheet to figure the amount to enter on line 11.

Column (b)

1. Enter the amount from Form 1040, 1040-SR, or
1040-NR, line 18 . . . . . . . . .

1.

2. Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR filers: Enter
the total of your credits from Schedule 3, lines 1
through 3, 6d, and 6l . . . . . . . .

2.

3. Subtract line 2 from line 1. Also enter this amount
on Form 8880, line 11. But if zero or less, stop;
you can’t take the credit—don’t file this form .

3.

Complete column (b) only if you’re filing a joint return.

Line 2
Include on line 2 any of the following amounts.
• Elective deferrals (including designated Roth contributions under
section 402A, if applicable) to a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b),
SEP, SIMPLE, or to the federal TSP.
• Voluntary employee contributions to a qualified retirement plan, as
defined in section 4974(c) (including the federal TSP).
• Contributions to a 501(c)(18)(D) plan.
These amounts may be shown in box 12 of your Form(s) W-2 for 2021.