Taxes & cost basis reporting

Contact Client Services at 800-847-4836 if you believe you have an error on your tax form such as:

• Your social security number is incorrect.
  
• You moved and need to update an address.
  
• Your tax form was submitted to the state of your secondary residence, rather than your primary address.
  
• The amount reported on Form 1099 is incorrect.

In general, the IRS requires you to start taking a minimum amount from your qualified retirement accounts starting with the year you turn age 73 to ensure the money you've saved is used for what it was intended—to fund your retirement.

Your RMDs are typically taxed as ordinary income in the years you receive them. Unless you specify otherwise on your election form, 10% of your distribution will be automatically withheld as prepayment of federal income tax. (State withholding may also apply, depending on the product(s) you own and the state where you live.)

No, if you sign up for eDelivery you will no longer receive a paper copy. This is true for life, health, annuity and mutual fund products as well as brokerage. eDelivery for brokerage is treated differently and can be set up in Wealthscape Investor in the 'Profile/Features' tab and under 'Account Characteristics'. Click on Edit in that section and via the dropdown, change from U.S. Mail to eDelivery and click Save. Clients can also contact their Financial Advisor or the Contact Center.

Thrivent Funds - effective January 2022: if the account owner has consented for electronic delivery of their tax forms on thrivent.com they will now receive their Thrivent Funds tax form via email rather than paper.

It is an IRS requirement that all contributions to a SEP or SIMPLE IRA be reported on the Form 5498 for the year they are actually deposited to the account, regardless of the year for which they are intended. It is the SEP/SIMPLE IRA owner's responsibility to report to the IRS for the year in which the contribution should apply.

For tax information about Thrivent Mutual Funds, please visit the Tax Resource Center on thriventfunds.com.

View Frequently Asked Questions on the TurboTax website.


Note: There are two Thrivent options at TurboTax: Thrivent Funds for Mutual Funds and Thrivent (Life, Annuity, Health) for Life, Annuity and Health contracts. Select the correct option based on the products you own. If you own products in both categories, you must select each icon and follow separate log in processes.

Cost basis as it relates to insurance contracts is generally the amount of life premiums paid, minus any previous nontaxable distributions

Most life insurance benefits are distributed to beneficiaries at the time of death and are not taxable. Proceeds paid, other than by reason of death of the insured, are taxable once you have exceeded the premiums paid into the contract (cost basis). A modified endowment contract (MEC) reports any growth in the contract at the time of the distribution.

In general, a loan can be taken against a life insurance contract without tax consequences unless the contract is a modified endowment contract (MEC). MECs report any growth in the contract at the time of the distribution. If a loan is not repaid, the loan may equal the cash value in the contract and the contract will lapse. Any tax gain is reported at the time of lapse.

Dividends (regardless of the dividend option) may be treated as amounts received by the contract owner and are therefore potentially taxable. Some exceptions apply for MECs. Please contact your Thrivent financial advisor or call Client Services at 800-847-4836 regarding your particular situation.

Lump-sum death benefits paid to the beneficiary/beneficiaries are typically not taxable. Only the amount paid above the value at the time of death is taxable as it is considered accrued interest.

Installment payments on death benefits paid to the beneficiary/beneficiaries are typically not taxable. Only the amount paid above the value at the time of death is taxable as it is considered accrued interest.

Whether the benefits you receive from disability income insurance are or are not taxable depends on what type of benefits you receive, whether the premiums were paid with pretax or after-tax dollars, and who paid the premiums—whether it's you or your employer.

You may want to check with your tax advisor to determine what impact your long-term care claim benefits have on your tax situation.

Interest that is paid above the value at the time of death is taxable.

Premium history is accessible on Thrivent.com and can be printed for easy access. To view, log in to your account. Once logged in, click on the product the information is needed for. Click on the "Payment Tab" and then the printer friendly button. Scroll down to see the payment information.

To find out whether premiums on a health insurance contract are tax-deductible, please refer these questions to your tax advisor.

If you received proceeds from a life insurance or annuity contract, the amount reported on Form 1099-R represents your share of the taxable gain of the contract, and the amount reported on Form 1099-INT represents accrued interest.

Qualified Annuities:

• A direct rollover where the plan type was changed will generate a Form 1099-R—for example, a 401(k) to IRA or 403(b). This is reportable, but not taxable.
• A conversion from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA is a taxable event.
• A recharacterized IRA contribution or a recharacterized Roth IRA conversion is a reportable event.

Nonqualified Annuities:

• A 1035 exchange to a contract with another company will generate a Form 1099-R. This is reportable, but not taxable.
• A taxable distribution—for example, a partial withdrawal—that was applied to another contract as a loan or premium payment will generate a Form 1099-R.

To import forms into TurboTax for your Thrivent Life, Health and Annuity accounts, you will need your thrivent.com user ID and password.

If you do not have a thrivent.com user ID and password, please select "Log In" in the upper right corner on thrivent.com, then click "Register Now" to begin the registration process. This allows you to create a user ID and password.

You will need:

• Your Thrivent ID number
• Your date of birth
• A valid email address

Note: Once the initial registration is complete, go back to the thrivent.com homepage and log in with your new Thrivent user ID and password. At the Account Overview screen, select your Thrivent Life, Health or Annuity account to view account Details, Activity or Documents.

Once the registration process is complete, wait at least 15 minutes before logging into TurboTax.

Data import is available for Thrivent Life, Health and Annuity on IRS Forms 1099-R and 1099-INT. In TurboTax, select "Thrivent (Life, Annuity, Health)."

Note: we will not create a 1099-INT form if the total interest is under $10 for the tax year.

View Frequently Asked Questions on the TurboTax website.

Note: There are two Thrivent options at TurboTax: Thrivent Funds for Mutual Funds and Thrivent (Life, Annuity, Health) for Life, Annuity and Health contracts. Select the correct option based on the products you own. If you own products in both categories, you must select each icon and follow separate log in processes.

Simply put, cost basis is the original price of an investment and is used to calculate capital gains or losses for tax purposes. It includes shares purchased by check, Automated Clearing House (ACH) or wire, exchanges into an account, and reinvested dividends and capital gains. Please note that cost basis is not a substitute for performance information for an investment.

The holding period is used to determine the tax rate that applies to any capital gains from the sale of shares.

• Long-term periods apply to shares owned more than one year. Lower capital gain tax rates apply to long-term capital gains.
• Short-term periods apply to shares owned one year or less. Ordinary income tax rates apply to short-term capital gains.

A wash sale is a sale of a security – stock, bonds or options—at a loss and buying a replacement stock that is the same or substantially similar within 30 days before or after the sale.

The requirement is part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act that was intended to improve compliance with tax laws and raise revenues to fund the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Specifically, the legislation requires an expansion of the current reporting on IRS Form 1099-B.

The new regulation impacts equity securities, mutual funds and debt securities purchased on or after the effective dates listed earlier. It does not affect annuities, life insurance, money market fund accounts with a stable net asset value (NAV), retirement accounts or Coverdell Education Savings Accounts.

For cost basis purposes, shares will be classified as "covered" or "noncovered".

• "Covered shares" are shares purchased on or after the effective date for which cost basis information is provided to you by the broker/mutual fund company.
• "Noncovered shares" include shares purchased before the effective date and shares purchased on or after the effective date for which cost basis information is unavailable. The information may be unavailable because the broker/mutual fund company does not have sufficient information to track the cost basis. Cost basis information on noncovered shares is not required to be provided but may still be provided to you (but not the IRS) for your information. You can choose to use cost basis information provided on noncovered shares or calculate your cost basis on your own.

You (and the IRS) will receive cost basis information for all of your covered shares on Form 1099-B. When available, you may receive cost basis information, either on Form 1099-B or a separate cost basis statement, for noncovered shares purchased prior to the effective date. Cost basis information on noncovered shares will not be provided to the IRS. You should always use Form 1099-B to complete your tax return for covered shares. Information from other sources can change due to cost basis adjustments that may occur from other activity in your account. As stated previously, you can choose to use cost basis information provided on noncovered shares or calculate your cost basis on your own.

For managed and retail brokerage accounts held at NFS, you cannot override the cost basis method designated for your mutual fund positions.

Cost basis information will be provided most of the time. Certain situations exist, however, where it may not be available. If you have cost basis information available, you can provide it to us so we can add and track it going forward.

Form 1099-B will provide you with separate cost basis information for the covered shares in each separate account. It is the shareholder's responsibility to make appropriate cost basis adjustments due to activity for the same security held in multiple accounts. For more information, please see IRS publications 551—Basis of Assets, or consult your tax advisor.

No. Thrivent financial advisors can explain the requirement and the various election methods, but they are not allowed to recommend a specific method. Because this falls into the area of providing tax advice, you should consult your tax advisor for help with selecting your election method.

Yes, you can use any of the available cost basis options. The method you choose, however, will also be the method used on equity and debt securities. The cost basis regulations apply to debt securities that are purchased on or after Jan. 1, 2014.

It depends on when the shares were purchased. If they were originally purchased by the owner before the effective date for cost basis reporting, these shares are noncovered shares. If cost basis information is available, it will be provided only to you and not to the IRS; you can choose if you want to use this information on your tax return. If the shares were purchased on or after the effective date, cost basis information will be available for these shares. Please note that you are not allowed to use the average cost method on gifted shares unless you agree to use the fair market value of the shares at the time of the gift as the cost basis for those shares.

It depends on when the shares were purchased. If the shares were originally purchased by the owner before the effective date for cost basis reporting, these shares are noncovered shares. If cost basis information is available, it will be provided only to you and not to the IRS; you can choose if you want to use this information on your tax return.
If the shares were purchased on or after the effective date, cost basis information will be available for these shares. Please note that you are not allowed to use the average cost method on gifted shares unless you agree to use the fair market value of the shares at the time of the gift as the cost basis for those shares.

Thrivent Brokerage has worked with TurboTax, H&R Block and TaxAct to provide an easy download into their tax preparation software.

Data import is available for Thrivent Brokerage Account Forms 1099-B, 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, 1099-OID, 1099-MISC and 1099-R. In TurboTax, select "National Financial" for Thrivent Brokerage Accounts (National Financial is the custodian for Thrivent Brokerage Accounts). In H&R Block & TaxAct, select "National Financial Services" for Thrivent Brokerage Accounts. Tax forms are available to download after January 31 and when the tax forms are available online.

See the Frequently Asked Questions on the TurboTax (http://www.turbotax.com), H&R Block (http://hrblock.com) or TaxAct (http://taxact.com) website. If your questions aren't answered there, please call Client Services at 800-847-4836.

You will need to be registered with Wealthscape Investor to import your data.

For Thrivent Brokerage (National Financial) Accounts, you will need to do the following:

• Go to Wealthscape Investor and click "Register Now." Follow the prompts to complete the registration process. After you see the message "We've verified your Identity," click "Register."
• Create a PIN and select a security question. Take note of your user ID and PIN as it will be required for TurboTax and H&R Block access.
• If you can't find your user ID and PIN, follow the registration instructions above or call Member Care Services at 800-847-4836; say "Brokerage," and a representative will help you reset your PIN. You may then use the Forgot/Reset My PIN options at Wealthscape Investor to establish a new PIN.

Note: Once the registration process is complete (on either site) you will need to wait at least 15 minutes before logging in to the tax software.

The TurboTax, H&R Block and TaxAct data import feature will import all of your accounts with matching Social Security numbers. If cost basis information is available to you on your Form 1099-B, it will transfer with this feature into your tax return. At this time, you cannot import accounts registered to a business, trust or to children under age 16.

Thrivent and its representatives and employees cannot provide legal, accounting, or tax advice or services. Work with your Thrivent representative and, as appropriate, your attorney and tax professional for additional information.

Tax information for brokerage accounts is available online through Wealthscape Investor, under "Documents." If you are registered on Thrivent.com and do not have Wealthscape Investor access, please contact us at 800-847-4836 and say "Brokerage" to request access.

If you'd like to receive electronic delivery notification of your brokerage tax forms, you can sign up for eDelivery through Wealthscape Investor by following the instructions in the Brokerage Go Paperless (PDF) brochure. With eDelivery, you will not receive a mailed copy.

National Financial Services (NFS) will make most tax forms available online in mid-January through mid-February. They will be mailed within 5 business days after they are available online.

You have several options. You can follow the "Register Now" instructions above to access your ID and reset your PIN or you can call Member Care Services at 800-847-4836 and say "Brokerage". A representative will verify your information and provide your ID. You may then use the Forgot/Reset My PIN options at Wealthscape Investor to establish a new PIN.