Tax on 401k required minimum distribution

[Catkt]

I am retired and income is now just from Social Security and a small RMD from my 401k. The total income is under $25,000. Tax was taken out of the RMD. Do I get that back as a refund when I submit tax forms to IRS?

[Hal_Al]

Yes. What you paid was only withholding, an estimate of the tax due. No piece of income is taxed individually. All your income, including pension plan distributions, is added together at tax filing time. The tax is calculated on that total (after adjustments, deductions,  and credits). Then withholding is subtracted to determine if you owe more or get a refund.

[fanfare]

fill out your tax return and look for the overpayment line.

That's what you can get back.

[AnnetteB6 · Accepted solution]

To give you a bit more explanation in addition to the answer provided by Champ Hal_Al, the amount of the withholdings that you would get back will depend on your tax return as a whole.

All of your income as well as your filing status can affect whether you will get back 100% of the withholding or just a portion of it, or even none at all.  For example, if you use the Married Filing Separate filing status, then at least a portion of your Social Security income will likely be taxed and you may even owe additional income tax over and above the amount that was withheld from your 401k distribution.  

@Catkt