1099-R Code N: Recharacterized Contribution (Same Year)

You changed this year's contribution from Roth to traditional (or the reverse) in the same year.

What the IRS instructions say

Official meaning, from the Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 A recharacterization of an IRA contribution made and recharacterized in the same year, moved trustee-to-trustee to the other IRA type.

Is it taxable, and does the 10 percent penalty apply?

None by itself. A same year recharacterization moves the contribution plus its earnings between IRA types by trustee to trustee transfer, Box 2a shows zero, and you report the contribution as if it had gone to the receiving IRA all along.

Worth knowing: Recharacterizing a CONTRIBUTION is still allowed. What the 2017 tax law ended was recharacterizing a CONVERSION, so a Roth conversion cannot be undone this way.

If this code looks wrong

The IRS matches Box 7 against your return, so start with the payer: request a corrected 1099-R, which is the IRS's standing instruction for incorrect forms. No corrected copy by the end of February? The IRS can contact the payer for you, and Form 4852 substitutes as a last resort. Remember that an indirect 60-day rollover is correctly coded 1 or 7, because the payer cannot see the redeposit; direct rollovers should show G or H, as our rollover guide explains before the paperwork ever gets cut.

← All 1099-R Box 7 codes

Sources: IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498; IRS Tax Topics 558 (early distributions), 413 (rollovers), and 154 (incorrect forms). Verified July 2026.

General educational information, not tax advice. Your distribution's taxation depends on your facts; consult a qualified tax professional. ClearChoiceRadar is not affiliated with the IRS or any government agency.