The One-Stop ESOP Blog

If you paid any ESOP or other qualified retirement plan distribution of $10 or more last year you will have to prepare and file some government forms: Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc.

If you paid any ESOP or other qualified retirement plan distribution of $10 or more last year you will have to prepare and file some government forms: Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc.

The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the PATH Act) was signed into law on December 18, 2015.  One item covered under the law was the permanent extension of the option to take a qualified charitable distribution (QCD).  This option, first available in 2006, allows IRA participants to exclude up to $100,000 from gross income for donations paid directly to a qualified charity from their IRA.

If you paid any ESOP or other qualified retirement plan distribution of $10 or more last year you will have to prepare and file some government forms: Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc.

The 2015 Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 provides guidance on how to prepare and file the 2015 forms.  Prior instructions can be found here.

ESOPs and other qualified retirement plans require that plan participants begin taking a distribution of their retirement plan benefits after they reach a certain age. This distribution, also known as an IRS Required Minimum Distribution (RMD), is required for plan participants annually starting with the year that the participant reaches 70 ½, or if later, the year in which the participant retires. [If the account is an IRA or the account owner is a 5% owner sponsoring the plan, the RMD must begin upon attainment of 70 ½ .]