<prompt> Human: My old company just sent me a check with my old 401k contributions and it only amounts to 340. It also says Less Federal Income Tax and automatically deducted it to 272.Two questions:1 If I deposit this into an IRA account, will that Fed. Income Tax deduction still apply? If so, is there something I can do to get that deduction back if Im not cashing the check?2 Is it really worth opening an IRA account for this minor sum? Im not pressed for the money, but itd be nice to have.Majorly new to all this, so I appreciate any advice.  <response>: If I deposit this into an IRA account, will that Fed. Income Tax deduction still apply?You would have to deposit the amount in the check plus the amount that was withheld for Federal taxes in order to avoid paying taxes and penalties on the amount. Otherwise, the amount withheld itself would be subject to taxes and penalties though in the end, youd still get a decent chunk of the withheld money back come tax season if you put the non-withheld portion in an IRA. Is there something I can do to get that deduction back if Im not cashing the check?Unfortunately, the IRS only refunds overpayments once per year, when you file your tax return. As stated previously, you would have to make up the difference yourself in order to not be subject to any penalties. Is it really worth opening an IRA account for this minor sum?Opening a Charles Schwab account and depositing the money into an IRA with them could be an option for you. Schwab has very low minimums for their index and index-based mutual funds: their index funds have 100 minimums, and their index-based Target Index series funds have no minimum. The latter fund type might be a good choice for you; theyre simple, fully diversified, and low cost.In the future, remember that if you have less than 1,000 in a former employers 401k plan, they are permitted to cash out your balance and send you a check, which is what happened to you. If your balance was at least 1,000 but less than 5,000, they could only roll the money into an IRA on your behalf. If your balance was over 5,000, you could have left the money in the plan and rolled it over at your leisure. 