Inherited IRA? Do I need to file a 1099R with my Taxes?

[FlyingRon]

That is not the case, David. Forget whatever "common wisdom" you got. The 50% penalty is when you DON'T take money out but were REQUIRED TO DO. There's no PENALTY on what you legitimately take out and that is only taxed at whatever your regular income tax rate is. Taking a premature distribution only has a 10% penalty.

 

[davew9128]

The IRS didn't make this complex. The law is written by Congress, and given that this portion has existed in its current form for nearly 20 years, should be well known by anybody who works in that area. That doesn't mean everybody knows all the regulations on inherited IRAs off the top of their head (though there are a couple of notable exceptions), but anybody advising on retirement plan distributions should be able to determine it rather easily.