The short answer

What it reportsDistributions from ABLE accounts.
Amounts to reportNo minimum; every amount is reported
To the recipientJanuary 31
To the IRS, on paperFebruary 28
To the IRS, electronicallyFebruary 28

If one arrives

Not taxable when spent on qualified disability expenses.

The form is how a payer tells the IRS what it paid. Its absence is not permission — income you received is reportable whether or not a form covers it, and a threshold decides only who must file, never what you owe.

What it reports

Form 1099-QA reports money taken out of an ABLE account: a savings account for a person with a disability, set up under a program run by a state. Its purpose, in Publication 907's words, is to pay "the qualified disability expenses of the account's designated beneficiary." Opening one is a choice, and each person may have only one.

The state program files the form "for each ABLE account from which any distribution was made or which was terminated during the calendar year," and sends a copy to the account holder. A contributor who had an excess contribution returned gets one too.

Who can have one

The account belongs to the person with the disability, who is both its owner and its designated beneficiary. From tax years beginning after 2025, a person qualifies if they are entitled to benefits because of blindness or disability that began before age 46. Before, the age was 26, so many people who could not open an account before 2026 now can.

The boxes

Box What it holds
1 Gross distribution: everything paid out in the year
2 Earnings
3 Basis: the part that returns what was contributed
4 Checked for a program-to-program transfer to another ABLE account
5 Checked if the account was closed during the year
6 Checked if the payment went to someone other than the beneficiary, such as a returned excess contribution

Box 2 and box 3 always add up to box 1. How box 2 is worked out is not covered here.

Taxable or not

A withdrawal that pays qualified disability expenses is not income. Those are expenses incurred while the beneficiary is an eligible individual that relate to the blindness or disability, "including expenses for maintaining or improving health, independence, or quality of life." Publication 907 lists education, housing, transportation, employment training and support, assistive technology, personal support services, health, prevention and wellness, legal fees, and funeral and burial expenses among them.

A withdrawal spent on anything else, or made while the beneficiary is no longer an eligible individual, can be partly taxable. Publication 907 works an example: a person whose disability went into remission took the whole account out the following year, and part of it had to be included in income.

Keep receipts that show what each withdrawal paid for. The form reports the money that came out; the record of what it paid for is yours.

Common questions

Who can have an ABLE account?
An individual whose blindness or disability began before a set age. For tax years beginning after 2025 the instructions raise that age: an individual qualifies if the "blindness or disability occurred before the date the individual attained age 46," up from 26.
Are withdrawals taxable?
Not when they pay qualified disability expenses. Publication 907 describes those broadly: expenses that "relate to blindness or disability, including expenses for maintaining or improving health, independence, or quality of life."
Can someone else put money in?
Yes. Publication 907: "Anyone, including the designated beneficiary, can contribute to an ABLE account." Contributions are not deductible, must be in cash, and are subject to an annual limit and a total balance limit.
What happens if my condition improves?
Withdrawals made while you are no longer an eligible individual are not for qualified disability expenses, and Publication 907 says they are "possibly subject to tax."
I moved the account to another state's program. Is that a withdrawal?
No. A program-to-program transfer is not included in box 1, and box 4 is checked to show it.

This page is for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. It covers United States federal reporting. Consult a qualified tax professional about your situation.

Official sources