Q. How should I handle this in the future to avoid problems?
A. Have the tax withheld from the distribution.
Withholding is treated as being paid equally throughout the year. Quarterly payments are only treated as paid when actually paid.
A common technique for retired people who must take Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) is to have all their federal withholding done when they take their RMD, usually late in the year.
