Failure to Take the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from Retirement Accounts

The penalty is 50% of the amount that should have been distributed. You should always try to get relief from this RMD penalty by filling out form 5329 with a reasonable cause for the failure such as illness, old age, memory problems or no reminder from the trustee. Also indicate that you have taken steps to remedy the situation by taking the distribution in question or setting up automatic withdrawals. This is one area where the IRS is usually pretty lenient.