topic I do not understand the "tax on excess accumulations in retirement account." Is this additional tax I owe? And if so, why? in Retirement tax questions

I do not understand the "tax on excess accumulations in retirement account." Is this additional tax I owe? And if so, why?

everydayc — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 05:45:46 GMT

Is this a tax over and above the tax I've already paid on my IRA RMD?

Re: I do not understand the "tax on excess accumulations in retirement account." Is this addition...

MaryK4 — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 16:13:14 GMT

The tax on excess accumulations in retirement accounts is an additional tax you would owe if you made an excess contribution in a prior year. Because IRAs have tax advantages, the limits must be adhered to- for example, if I ignored the contributions limits and put $100,000 in a ROTH IRA, I would be able to have more tax-free income on the earnings when distributed. It is 6% per year that the excess is kept in the account to encourage correction.

It is be in addition to any tax you paid on your IRA distribution and/or tax for late payment of RMD.

Please see Tax on Excess Contributions.

Re: I do not understand the "tax on excess accumulations in retirement account." Is this additional tax I owe? And if so, why?

VolvoGirl — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 16:21:09 GMT

It also could be if Turbo Tax thinks you didn't take your full RMD amount. Did you have more than 1 1099R? Go back though the 1099R and followup questions. It will ask how much is your RMD. It usually should be the same amount as that 1099R box 1. It asks for each 1099R separately so don't enter the total RMD for all.

Re: I do not understand the "tax on excess accumulations in retirement account." Is this additional tax I owe? And if so, why?

lcgundo — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 18:23:17 GMT

I have the same problem and none of these explanations make any sense. I've been retired for 29 years and haven't made any contributions to any retirement accounts in decades. There also seems to be a conflation between excess "contributions" and excess "accumulations.

In my case the little table shows nothing but zeroes except for an amt listed as "Deductible" amt alongside "Tax on excess accumulations in retirement account". And this is the first time I have seen such a message on Turbo tax any time.

Re: I do not understand the "tax on excess accumulations in retirement account." Is this additional tax I owe? And if so, why?

VolvoGirl — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 18:32:34 GMT

Tax on Excess Accumulations means you didn't take out enough to cover your RMD from the account. Is this the first year you have to take a RMD? Did you turn 73 in 2025? Afrter you enter a 1099R it will ask how much was the RMD. If you get a pension you need to enter the gross amount as the RMD and say all of it is the RMD.

Or there might be a problem in the program how you report your RMD.

Re: I do not understand the "tax on excess accumulations in retirement account." Is this additional tax I owe? And if so, why?

lcgundo — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 18:40:13 GMT

I just noticed that TurboTax 2025 says that form 5329-T isn't available until Jan 28th. I suspect that is the problem.

Re: I do not understand the "tax on excess accumulations in retirement account." Is this additional tax I owe? And if so, why?

lcgundo — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 19:45:32 GMT

I am 86 years old and have taken RMDs for 16 years. I just now reviewed all of my entries and I withdrew a total amount that exceeded the requirement by $66. And I calculated it separately for my 401K and my IRAs. I made those withdrawals in June & October of 2025 and I indicated that the entire amounts where to satisfy the RMDs.

Part of what is confusing is that the table Turbo displays is filled with zeroes except for the part labeled "Tax on excess accumulations". And there is no explanation of why there is a tax being assessed or how the amt was calculated.

I don't know what else to do except wait and see if Intuit updates Turbo and that fixes the problem.

Re: I do not understand the "tax on excess accumulations in retirement account." Is this additional tax I owe? And if so, why?

VolvoGirl — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 19:55:17 GMT

Did you get two 1099R? One for IRA and for 401K? You have to withdraw and enter the RMD separately for each.

See this thread especially for SteamTrain replies. He seems to know how to report RMD and problems

Entering first year RMD in TurboTax 2025

Re: I do not understand the "tax on excess accumulations in retirement account." Is this additional tax I owe? And if so, why?

lcgundo — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 20:20:45 GMT

Yes. I calculated it and entered the data separately for the 401K and the 3 IRAs. And they clearly show up that way in TurboTax that I have completed so far.

I just took a look at the federal form 5329 and it is section IX that applies to "Excess Accumulation". So it seems reasonable that when Turbo releases that form it will force the software to reveal the details of how it concluded an additional tax is due and how the amount was calculated.

Another reason I think form 5329 is relevant is because Turbo mentions within my account that it won't be available until Jan 28. That indicates that Turbo knows that form is required for my filing.

Re: I do not understand the "tax on excess accumulations in retirement account." Is this additional tax I owe? And if so, why?

lcgundo — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 23:31:13 GMT

Hopefully my final input on this topic. I discovered that I had not in fact checked the 100% applied to RMD on one of the 1099s. Thanks to everyone, and especially VolvoGirl, for your help.