@brew717559 wrote:
Yes but I’ve always treated them as payments rather than distributions. Am I handling this all wrong? Are these payments supposed to be maintained differently? I was never advised so always just assumed it was income but it appears it is considered an early distribution and I’m being penalized.
Did you get a 1099-R?
In general, if your divorce requires your spouse to split their qualified retirement account with you (IRA, 401k, etc.), then each ex-spouse will get a 1099-R for their portion of the payout and each spouse will be responsible for the taxes on their share.
I'm not clear on the rules for the penalty for early withdrawal if your spouse is over retirement age but you are under age 59-1/2. Can you tell us if this is a pension, an IRA, a 401k, or what kind of plan it is? If you got a 1099-R, what codes are in box 7?
@dmertz
