Form 5329 and not taking a minimum required distribution?

[Debst99]

A new client came to me.  He did not take a minimum required IRA distribution. I am going to file the form 5329 for him and file the waiver explanation statement. Does anyone know of the best thing to say where the IRS agreed with the waiver?  The amount of the required distribution was $1410.00. Thank you for your help.

[Accountant-Man]

Is your client promising to take TWO distributions in 2019 and pay the tax on them?

[Debst99]

YES

[Accountant-Man]

Good. Better for him.

[IRonMaN · Accepted solution]

The best thing to say is to tell the truth.  In any case, for a $1410 distribution I don't think the IRS is going to eat up a lot of time analyzing the reasonableness of the explanation.

[George4Tacks]

If appropriate, mention age. Have the client commit to taking the $1410 NOW, along with their 2019 distribution and arranging for automatic annual distributions. As IronMaN state, make a truthful statement and include all steps to be taken to NEVER DO THIS AGAIN.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

I'm curious, has anyone ever gotten a letter from IRS for missing an RMD?   

I cant say I've ever seen one, and I find it hard to believe none of the clients that have come through this office in the last 30 years never missed an RMD.

[abctax55]

SHUT up....don't wake the sleeping dragon
I've never seen an IRS missive either, nor have I ever seen them deny the F 5329 wiver request.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

       :joy:

[IRonMaN]

Nope.  Maybe their threshold for notices is for RMDs of a gazillion dollars or more.

[Illni]

Now if we can just get Lacerte to allow us to put preparer information on page 2 of the 5329. I don't think they do currently.

[sjrcpa]

5329 is almost always filed with the 1040, so it wouldn't be needed.

If you're filing it by itself, it will need to be mailed, so I guess you can write in the preparer info.

[BobKamman]

Has anyone ever seen a waiver explanation rejected?  I just worry about the people who pay the penalty without even trying.

If the explanation is more than a sentence, it's probably too long.   Well, OK, a two-sentence paragraph, with the second sentence "as soon as the mistake was recognized, the IRA withdrawal was made."