Both my Wife and I had IRA's...She passed in May of 2017...and her balance was transferred to my account as beneficiary..Do I have to consider this as a inheritance?

[MichaelDC · Accepted solution]

Very sorry for your loss. 

This is not a taxable event for you. It may be considered an inheritance, however, you will need to pay taxes on any distributions that you receive in the future.

[macuser_22]

Just to add:   Since you used the option to treat it as your own and had it transferred to your IRA, it is now *your* IRA and not an inherited IRA.    Only if you kept it is a separate account in your wife's name with you as beneficiary would it remain an inherited IRA.   For future distributions when asked if the distribution is from an inherited IRA, the answer is no.