My sibling and I split the RMD from an inherited IRA after our parents passing. Should I claim that I received the full RMD for 2021 or not?

[fanfare]

Report the 1099-R as received.

Then work out between you who reimburses whom for half the tax paid.

[dmertz]

Right.  If you were the beneficiary of the IRA (which is apparently the case since you were the one who received the Form 1099-R), it's entirely reportable on your own tax return.  Anything that you gave to your sibling was simply a gift from you to your sibling.  If your gifts to your sibling in 2021 were more than $15,000 you must file a gift tax return, Form 709.

[ale4thee]

Thank you, fanfare, for your response.

Please see my reply added to the  post.

[ale4thee]

Thank you, dmertz, for your response.

Please see my reply added to the post.

[ale4thee]

fanfare & dmertz,

What was not mentioned was that as the financial institution mandated and conducted the split of the RMD, requiring both of us to be present, we were each given our equal shares separately.

As such is the case, my 1099-R only shows half of the total RMD taken. Thus, the confusion on selecting either “I did”, or “did not”, receive all the distribution. Technically, concerning what was due to me “yes”, although literally, “no”.

The suggested tax waiver for answering with the later seems to involve the CARES Act and probably has nothing to do with my situation, although who wouldn’t be interested in a waiver. From the answers to my question here it appears that I should just say that I did receive all of the RMD.

Thanks.

[JillS56]

Since the total amount of the RMD was taken and then the brokerage firm or financial advisor split the funds between you and your sibling and sent you a 1099-R for your share, you can answer I did receive all the RMD.  Your sibling would also answer the same way.   The process followed would be the correct way to handle the distribution of the RMD.   

[dmertz]

As JillS55 indicated, since the year-of-death RMD was satisfied, just say that you received all of the RMD, otherwise TurboTax will inappropriately prepare Form 5329 Part IX to calculate an excess-accumulation penalty.

Not sure why the financial institution required you to take any RMD before establishing the two inherited IRAs since there is no statutory or regulatory requirement to do so.  It's not uncommon for separate inherited IRAs for each beneficiary to be established first, then the beneficiaries among themselves decide the amount of the RMD each beneficiary will satisfy (and in the case where the decedent had multiple traditional IRAs at different IRA custodians, might decide to take the entire RMD from an inherited IRA at a different custodian by aggregation).

[ale4thee]

Once again, thank you to all for your generous and most appreciated help.