RMD Penalty Waiver Letter: Three Sample Templates

Use when you requested the distribution on time but the broker, bank, or plan administrator failed to process it before the December 31 deadline.

[Date]

Internal Revenue Service
[Service center mailing address for your state]

Re:  Request for Waiver of Additional Tax Under IRC §4974(d)
     [Your Name] — SSN: XXX-XX-XXXX
     Tax Year [YYYY] — Form 5329, Part IX

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to request a waiver of the additional tax on the
required minimum distribution shortfall reported on the enclosed
Form 5329, Part IX.

In [Month YYYY] I submitted a written distribution request to
[custodian name] for the full $[amount] RMD due from my IRA
[account number ending in XXXX] for tax year [YYYY]. I confirmed
the request was received by [evidence — confirmation number,
email, dated form]. The custodian did not process the distribution
before the December 31 deadline. I discovered the missed
distribution on [date] when reviewing my year-end statements.

Upon discovery I immediately contacted the custodian. The
corrective distribution of $[amount] was processed and received
on [date]. Documentation of the original request and the late
processing is attached.

I respectfully request that the additional tax be waived under
Treasury Regulation §54.4974-2 because the shortfall was due to
reasonable error and reasonable steps were taken to remedy it.

Sincerely,

[Your signature]
[Typed name]
[Phone number]

Use when the missed RMD was the original owner's final RMD in the year of their death, and you (the beneficiary) only became aware of the shortfall during estate administration.

[Date]

Internal Revenue Service
[Service center mailing address for your state]

Re:  Request for Waiver of Additional Tax Under IRC §4974(d)
     [Your Name], as beneficiary of [Decedent Name, SSN]
     Tax Year [YYYY] — Form 5329, Part IX

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing as the beneficiary of [decedent name] to request a
waiver of the additional tax on the year-of-death required
minimum distribution shortfall reported on the enclosed
Form 5329, Part IX.

[Decedent name] passed away on [date]. At the time of death,
[their/his/her] [YYYY] required minimum distribution of $[amount]
from the [account custodian] IRA, account ending in XXXX, had not
been taken. As beneficiary, I became aware of the outstanding
year-of-death RMD obligation on [date] during [the inherited-IRA
retitling process / estate administration / consultation with
the executor]. I took the corrective distribution from the
inherited account in the amount of $[amount] on [date].

Treasury Regulation §1.401(a)(9)-5, Q&A-4(a) treats any year-of-
death RMD the original owner did not complete as the beneficiary's
responsibility when the original owner died on or after their
required beginning date. This was the first beneficiary year, and
the timing reflected the discovery during estate administration
rather than neglect.

I respectfully request that the additional tax be waived under
Treasury Regulation §54.4974-2 because the shortfall was due to
reasonable error and reasonable steps were taken to remedy it.

Sincerely,

[Your signature]
[Typed name]
[Phone number]

For the line-by-line Form 5329 walkthrough that pairs with these letters, see Missed RMD: How to Fill Out Form 5329 Part IX. For the broader penalty-and-waiver framework (reasonable-cause standards, IRS approval timeline, what counts as adequate documentation), see IRS waiver for a missed RMD. For the deadline tracking and account-level RMD monitoring that prevents the next miss, see how SimpleRMD works or the main RMD overview.