Deferring part of RMD at 70-1/2 into next year

[hoffyevan]

You are allowed to defer your first RMD into the following year.  If you do that, what do you put in Form 5329, line 52 for "Minimum required Distribution for 2018"?  For example, if the RMD is, say, $10,000, but you only took $1000 in 2018 and the remainder at the start of 2019.  So, for line 52, do you enter zero, $1000 or $10,000?  If you enter $10,000 will that set up a penalty?  The other two answers are only partially correct. 

[macuser_22]

You put nothing down because you do not file any 5329 at all.   If you told TurboTax that you did not take all of  the 2018 RMD and it produced a 5329 then delete the 1099-R that you entered, delete any 5329 form and re-enter the 1099-R and answer the RMD question that a RMD was NOT required, because it was not required for 2018 if it was your first RMD and you deferred all or part to 2019.

Nothing about a RMD goes on a tax return at all, only the 5329 if the RMD was not taken if required and in your case it was not required at all in 2018so there should be no 5329 at all.

[hoffyevan]

Thanks.  To clarify, I took 10% ($1000) of my $10,000 RMD in 2018 (and the remaining 90% in 2019).  My understanding, which may be incorrect, was that my RMD in 2018  was anything I wanted from 0% to 100% of my total RMD.  So would it make sense to keep the form 5329, and enter $1000 as my RMD?  Then, for the 2019 form my RMD would be roughly $9k + $10k. 

[macuser_22 · Accepted solution]

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@hoffyevan wrote:

Thanks.  To clarify, I took 10% ($1000) of my $10,000 RMD in 2018 (and the remaining 90% in 2019).  My understanding, which may be incorrect, was that my RMD in 2018  was anything I wanted from 0% to 100% of my total RMD.  So would it make sense to keep the form 5329, and enter $1000 as my RMD?  Then, for the 2019 form my RMD would be roughly $9k + $10k. 

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No.  You do DO NOT keep the 5329.  That form does NOT report a RMD at all, it reports a penalty for NOT taking the RMD if you were required to take one and you were not required to take one in 2018.    The fact that you took part of it is immaterial for 2018 and will be reported in 2019 that you took all of the RMD.   You report the $1,000 *distribution* in 2018.  That is all that you report.

For 2018 you should have a 1099-R for the $1,000 that you answer the RMD question that you were not required to take a RMD in 2018.

For 2019 you will receive a 1099-R for the remaining $9,000 plus the 2019 RMD and answer the RMD question that it was ALL a RMD - and you are done.    Nowhere do you need to enter the actual amount of the RMD or that part was taken in one year and part in the next year - that information does not go on a tax return.

You said: "...Then, for the 2019 form my RMD would be roughly $9k + $10k. .." Right, the remaining 2018 RMD plus the 2019 RMD.  The 2019 1099-R box 1 amount will be the total of both.