Entering first year RMD in TurboTax 2025

[butron]

I am 73 and 2025 was the first year I was required to take an RMD. I took the RMD during calendar 2025 and would like to enter it in Turbo Tax; however, TT explicitly instructs not to enter RMD's that are required by April 1st, which is my case, even though I already paid it. So I answered $0 to the question but I am wondering where do I make it clear that I have already taken my first RMD during the calendar year and not waited until April 1st?

[MinhT1]

In the year you turn 73, you have until April 1 of the following year to withdraw your first RMD. But you are allowed to take it in the year you turn 73. 

So as you have already taken your first RMD in 2025, in TurboTax, you should answer that the distribution is a RMD and specify its amount.

[dmertz]

As MinhT1 said, in your case disregard the instruction about not entering amounts due by April 1.  With regard to amounts due by April 1, omit from the required amount only the amount not taken by December 31 of the RMD year.

[KimTVU]

I have the same question. I turned 73 in 2025 and took the required RMD in 2025. I could have waited until April 1, 2026 to take my 2025 RMD. I am not sure what to put in this RMD box in TurboTax on this page: "Let's get more information about your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)." If I put in the full RMD taken in 2025, my tax liability went unexpectedly way up. If I put in zero, the tax liability is what I expected. TurboTax info is very confusing. It stated that "Do not include RMDs which are due on April 1. RMDs for the first year you're required to take a distribution are generally due on April 1."

Which number do I put on this page: "Let's get more information about your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)"?

[SteamTrain]

@KimTVU 

Yeah, I noticed that when entering the data into a 1099-R form that was empty of any $$  to start .

When making the first entries on the form, the software has done some, but not all the calculations ...yet

Then when entering that  non-zero RMD amount  (35,000 in my test file) on the page that notes the 1 April date, the tax due rachets (mine at least) to a huge tax due...

That's just a strange quirk of the software....and works out OK if you go thru the pages that follow

_________________________

Investigating right at  the point when I first entered that 35,000 RMD amount, when my tax due ratcheted to a big number, I found that a form 5329 has been  generated, indicating a huge penalty for not haven't taken the actual RMD...because I hadn't gone to the next page yet where

......on the next page you indicate in a bullet point, that entire distribution was the full RMD amount, the software then recalcs eliminating the Penalty form 5329 entirely (in my case it had added over $8000 due before clicking that bullet point)...and the final calculations proceed properly.

When I edit the form a second time...and just stepping thru not changing anything, there's no ratcheting of the tax due/refund, because I've already hit the button on that one page indicating all of it was my RMD.

Yeah...TTX might make the flow proceed in a way that doesn't panic us somehow...but I'm not a programmer, and perhaps it needs some better management oversight of the user experience.

[KimTVU]

Thank you, @SteamTrain! I freaked out when I saw the increased tax liability and did not go further. I see the option to state that the entire distribution is RMD now. Appreciate your response!

[KimTVU]

Suggestion to TurboTax programmers:

Do not recalculate tax liability on this page: "Let's get more information about your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)."  Wait until the user specifies what the 1099 R distribution amount was for on "How much of this distribution applied to your December 31, 2025 RMD?" before recalculating tax liability.  This will provide a more intuitive user experience.

[SteamTrain]

Ahhh...excellent idea.

Just suspend any calculations while the RMD amount, and how much was RMD selections are being made.