Can I file Form 5329 separately from Form 1040 for missed RMD?

You can definitely file Form 5329 separately after you've already filed your Form 1040. This is actually a common situation, especially with inherited IRAs where the RMD rules can be easy to overlook. Here's what you should do: Complete Form 5329 for each person who missed an RMD. Make sure you only complete the sections that apply to the missed RMD (likely Part IX). At the top of the form, be sure to include your names, address, and Social Security numbers. The important part is checking the box that indicates this is a standalone filing (it's right under the SSN field). You should absolutely include a letter explaining the reasonable cause. "We forgot" might not seem like a good excuse, but the IRS can be surprisingly understanding about first-time mistakes, especially if you're proactively fixing the error. Explain that this was an oversight, you're now aware of the requirement, and have taken steps to ensure it doesn't happen again. Many people have had the 50% penalty waived this way.

After facing a similar situation last year with a missed RMD, I found https://taxr.ai incredibly helpful. I uploaded my previous tax returns and IRA statements, and it immediately identified the missed RMD issue and calculated the exact penalty amount. Then it generated a customized explanation letter that outlined reasonable cause arguments specific to my situation. The tool also prepared a properly formatted standalone Form 5329 with all the right boxes checked and explained exactly where to mail it. The best part was it showed me how to request a penalty waiver by including specific language in my letter that referenced relevant IRS precedents. My penalty ended up being completely waived!

I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after trying it for my missed RMD situation. I was skeptical at first (as you could tell from my question), but it really did simplify the whole process. The tool spotted that I had actually miscalculated my RMD amount based on the wrong life expectancy table - something I hadn't even realized. It generated a perfect letter explaining my confusion about the SECURE Act changes and how they applied to my inherited IRA. The documentation was really professional, and I just got notification from the IRS that my penalty was reduced from $2,100 to just $210. The system even showed me exactly which IRS address to use for my region, which saved me from another potential mistake.

If you're having trouble getting through to the IRS about your missed RMD situation, I highly recommend using https://claimyr.com. I was in a similar situation last year and needed to speak with someone at the IRS to confirm I was filing the standalone 5329 correctly, but kept getting the "call back later" message for weeks. I was super frustrated until I found Claimyr. It basically holds your place in line with the IRS and calls you back when an agent is available. You can see a demo of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I was able to speak with an actual IRS agent within a couple hours instead of wasting days trying to get through. The agent confirmed I could file the 5329 separately and gave me specific instructions on where to include my reasonable cause explanation. Getting that confirmation directly from the IRS gave me so much peace of mind.

I need to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to give it a try anyway because I was desperate to resolve my missed RMD issue before things got worse. The service actually worked exactly as promised! After weeks of failing to get through to the IRS myself, Claimyr got me connected to an agent in about 47 minutes. The agent confirmed that I could file Form 5329 separately and gave me specific advice about my reasonable cause letter. She even told me which address would process my form the fastest based on my location. For anyone dealing with missed RMDs or other IRA issues that need IRS clarification, being able to actually speak with someone makes all the difference. My situation is now resolved and I've already received confirmation that my reasonable cause was accepted and the penalty was waived.

Something people forget about missed RMDs is that you should still take the distribution ASAP even while you're filing the 5329. The IRS looks more favorably on waiving the penalty if you've already corrected the error by taking the distribution, rather than just reporting the missed distribution while still not having taken it out.

One thing to keep in mind - if you and your spouse file jointly but the IRA is only in one name, make sure you're putting the correct SSN on the standalone 5329. I made this mistake and put both our names and SSNs on the form, which caused confusion and delayed processing. For an inherited IRA, you need just the account owner's information.

Just wanted to share my recent experience with this exact situation. We missed an RMD from my wife's inherited IRA in 2023 and discovered it after already filing our return. I was really stressed about the potential $1,800 penalty. We filed the standalone Form 5329 with a reasonable cause letter explaining that we were confused by the new SECURE Act rules and thought we had until age 73 (like regular IRAs) rather than continuing the original owner's RMD schedule. We also mentioned that we immediately took the missed distribution once we realized the error and set up automatic distributions going forward. The IRS completely waived the penalty! The key things that seemed to help were: 1) We took action immediately after discovering the mistake, 2) We showed we put measures in place to prevent it happening again, and 3) We were honest about the confusion without making excuses. The whole process took about 6 months from filing the 5329 to getting the penalty waiver confirmation. Don't lose hope - the IRS really can be reasonable about first-time mistakes if you handle it properly!