To answer your question: No, you do not report any 2017 distribution before you file your 2017 tax return. The IRA custodian will send you a 1099-R form by Jan 31, 2018 that gets entered into TurboTax retirement section to report them. You probably should have the custodian withhold the proper amount of tax depending on your margional tax bracket. Most custodians will withhold 20% unless you specify a different amount.
"I use the total ira amount of the end of 2016 to calculate the first rmd..." is incorrect. The amount to use is the years end total of *all* Traditional IRA account of the year *prior* to the RMD year. Since your first RMD is actually for 2016 (even though you can delay taking to until April 1 of 2017, it would be calculated using the 2015 years end total).
The 2017 RMD would use the 2016 years end total.
You can ask the IRA custodian to calculate the RMD amounts for you.
For more information refer to the IRS website:
https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/required-minimum-distribution-workshe...
**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**
