I cashed out an inherited IRA and barely anything was withheld. What now?

Answered by Steven Wu, CPA, for EstimatedTax.com

The distribution is taxable income and the tax may be due this quarter. Check the safe harbor rule first because it may mean nothing is due until April.

Cashing out an inherited traditional IRA adds the whole distribution to your taxable income for the year, and custodians often withhold only 10% or nothing at all. The gap between that and your actual bracket is what you still owe, and it can be large.

Before sending the IRS anything, check the safe harbor rule. If your withholding and payments this year already reach 100% of last year's total tax, or 110% if your prior-year adjusted gross income was over $150,000, the windfall needs no estimated payment. You would pay the balance in April with no penalty.

If safe harbor does not cover you, the tax on the distribution is due with the quarterly deadline for the period you received it, not in April. The annualized income method keeps the earlier quarters from being penalized for income that did not exist yet.

There is one more option late in the year. Extra withholding from a W-2 paycheck, or from the distribution itself if your custodian allows a higher rate, counts as paid evenly across the whole year, which can cover the bill without any quarterly paperwork.

Related

Get your exact quarterly number

Answer a few questions and see what you owe each quarter, federal and state, under both official IRS methods, free.

Sources: IRS Publication 590-B· IRS Publication 505