You Asked Us - IRA Beneficiary Options

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Q. My client inherited an IRA from his aunt in 2006. She was 75-years of age when she died. However, he did not understand the rules and failed to distributed his required minimum distribution (RMD) amount by the December 31 ,2007 deadline. What should he do?

A. If an individual fails to distribute his RMD by the deadline, he will owe the IRS an excess accumulation penalty of 50% of the shortfall. The excise tax must be reported on IRS Form 5329 and IRS Form 1040 (your income tax return).

If the client missed the deadline due to a reasonable cause, he may ask the IRS to waive the 50% excise tax, by attaching a letter of explanation to his completed Form 5329. He should include proof that he has taken steps to remedy the issue by withdrawing the amount. Proof of the withdrawal should be included with his request.

If the IRS approved his request, he need not pay the excess accumulation penalty

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