Are stock dividends drawn considered a part of my RMD withdrawals?

[VolvoGirl]

Stock dividends in your IRA or 401K account?  Yes if you take them out it is a distribution and counted as such.  You probably will only get one 1099R at the end for all the distributions you took.

[Critter]

All distributions from a retirement plan are the same no matter "what" the distributions are comprised of AND  if you have an RMD required all distributions taken are applied to the RMD until it is satisfied.

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

 As stated above, if you have a qualified retirement account that is subject to RMD, it doesn't matter what assets inside the account that you sell in order to withdraw the money to satisfy the RMD.

[dmertz]

Are these dividends received under section 404(k) from employer stock in an employee stock ownership (ESOP) plan, paid directly to you in cash and reported with code U on Form 1099-R?  If so, these do not satisfy any part of your RMD from the employer plan.  They only count as part of your RMD if they are paid to your employer plan, are reinvested in employer stock and become part of the plan balance to your credit, and you subsequently receive a regular distribution from the plan reported with code 7 on the Form 1099-R.

See section 1.401(9)-5 Q&A-9(b)(5): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/1.401(a)(9)-5

[L Young]

This is only half correct.  Stock dividends distributions from an IRA count towards your RMD.  Stock dividends distributions from a 401(k) do not.  I just got off the phone with Fidelity to ask about that.