confused about 2018 Form 5498

If by direct transfer you mean a trustee-to-trustee transfer or a transfer that involved a check, but the check was made out to the receiving trustee and NOT to you (even if mailed to you), then you're fine. The once-per-year transfer limit only applies if you personally take control of the money.

And yes, in your situation I would expect only the one non-zero number since the second transfer didn't add money to or remove money from the IRA "universe" (for most tax purposes all your IRA accounts are really a single IRA).

Finally, there's nothing to do with the 5498 (which as you suspect does also go to the IRS) other than keep it for your record.

Thanks. Yes, it was trustee to trustee.

Mel

IIRC, the 5498 is only used to calculate MRD (Minimum Required Distribution). You don't need to worry about it for a personal (as opposed to inherited) IRA until the year in which you reach age 70 1/2.

The 5498 tells the IRS more than just whether an MRD is due and the amount from that account. It tells the IRS if any contributions were made to an IRA, a SIMPLE IRA or a Roth IRA for the tax year. It also tells the IRS the amounts of any rollovers or conversions in that tax year. As such, the taxpayer should confirm that the numbers in all those boxes match their actual activity with the trustee.