Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Lines 52a and 52b of Form 5329 are for the minimum required distribution you were supposed to take for 2025, and lines 53a and 53b are for the amount actually distributed to you. Both pairs are split in two according to whether the plan had a distribution during the correction window. They are the first half of Part IX, which is the part you complete when a required distribution was missed or came up short.
What Part IX is for
The form’s own heading for this part says “Complete this part if you did not receive the minimum required distribution from your qualified retirement plan.” The instructions open the part the same way: “You owe this tax if you don’t receive the minimum required distribution from your qualified retirement plan, including an IRA or an eligible section 457 deferred compensation plan.” This page covers the two input pairs, lines 52 and 53. The tax itself is figured on lines 54 and 55.
Lines 52a and 52b: the minimum required
The form words the two lines this way. Line 52a reads “Minimum required distribution for 2025 from all qualified plans for which you received a distribution of the full amount of the excess accumulation during the correction window”. Line 52b reads “Minimum required distribution for 2025 from all other plans”. Most people with a single missed distribution and no corrective withdrawal use line 52b. The correction window is explained on lines 54 and 55.
For an IRA that is not a Roth IRA, Publication 590-B gives the timing: “Generally, you must begin receiving distributions by April 1 of the year following the year in which you reach age 73.” The instructions then say “If you choose to receive periodic distributions, you must receive a minimum required distribution each year.” The age is stated here only as those sentences state it. If you are unsure whether you have reached it, the RMD basics page walks through the timing.
Where the number comes from
For an IRA the instructions give the method: “You can figure the minimum required distribution by dividing the account balance of your IRAs (other than Roth IRAs) on December 31 of the year preceding the distribution by the applicable life expectancy.” You do not have to do the division yourself if the custodian has done it: “If the trustee, custodian, or issuer of your IRA informs you of the minimum required distribution, you can use that amount.” The RMD calculator is a place to check the arithmetic.
For a workplace plan the instructions put the work on the plan: “Your plan administrator should figure the amount that must be distributed each year.” For the start date of a workplace plan they say “In general, you must begin receiving distributions from your plan no later than April 1 following the later of (a) the year in which you reach age 73, or (b) the year in which you retire.”
Roth accounts are treated differently. The instructions say “There are no minimum required distributions during the lifetime of the owner of a Roth IRA.” and, for a workplace Roth account, “There are no minimum required distributions from a designated Roth account during the employee’s lifetime.”
Lines 53a and 53b: what you actually took
Line 53b reads “Amount distributed to you during 2025 from all other plans”. The instruction for the pair is “Enter the amount distributed towards the required minimum distribution from all plans.” Two things are kept out: “Do not include on line(s) 53a and/or 53b, any distribution(s) received after the deadline for taking the minimum required distribution or during the correction window.”
What counts toward the requirement is broad: “Generally, all distributions from an account count towards the minimum distribution requirements.” That includes charitable gifts made straight from an IRA: “A qualified charitable distribution will count towards your minimum required distribution.” The qualified charitable distribution page compares the two ages involved.
Aggregation: which accounts can be combined
The instructions limit the extra amounts you may count: “If you received more than the minimum required distribution from any account, do not include the excess on line(s) 53a and/or 53b unless those accounts may be aggregated under the following rules.”
For IRAs that are not Roth IRAs: “The minimum required distribution must be figured separately for each IRA you own, but you can generally withdraw the total amount from one or more of your IRAs that are not Roth IRAs.” For an inherited IRA the instructions narrow this to “only distributions from IRAs inherited from the same decedent can be combined to satisfy the minimum required distribution for all inherited IRAs from that decedent.”
For workplace plans the rule is stricter: “Qualified plans cannot aggregate distributions for purposes of meeting the minimum required distribution requirement.” “You must figure the amount of the minimum required distribution separately for each plan and withdraw that amount from the specific plan.” The instructions add a tip for one kind of account: “you can total the required minimum distributions (RMDs) and then take them from any one (or more)” of the 403(b) tax-sheltered annuities if you have more than one. More on combining accounts is on the RMD aggregation rules page.
Where it goes next
Each pair of lines feeds a subtraction on line 54. Line 54a reads “Subtract line 53a from line 52a and multiply the result by 10% (0.10).” Line 54b reads “Subtract line 53b from line 52b and multiply the result by 25% (0.25).” Line 55 then adds the two, and its total goes on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 8, as the form says. Both steps are on lines 54 and 55. If you missed a distribution on your own account, see what to do about a missed RMD.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Form 5329 and its 2025 instructions, and where it cites Publication 590-B it reads the 2025-returns edition. These are the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-17, and they are the forms for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. Check the tax year printed on the form you are filling in and use the line numbers on that year’s form, because a different year’s form can number or word its lines differently. Part I of the form is covered on the Part I page, and the whole form is mapped in Form 5329 explained. This page is about missed required distributions, not the early withdrawal penalty exceptions.
Common mistakes
- Counting a late withdrawal on line 53. The instructions say “Do not include on line(s) 53a and/or 53b, any distribution(s) received after the deadline for taking the minimum required distribution or during the correction window.”
- Counting the extra from an over-withdrawn account without checking whether the accounts may be combined. The instructions say “do not include the excess on line(s) 53a and/or 53b unless those accounts may be aggregated under the following rules.”
- Combining workplace plans into one total. The instructions say “Qualified plans cannot aggregate distributions for purposes of meeting the minimum required distribution requirement.”
Related: Form 5329 explained, RMD aggregation rules, Missed your own RMD, RMD calculator, and Schedule 2 (Form 1040).
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- Instructions for Form 5329 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i5329.pdf
- Form 5329 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5329.pdf
- Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (for 2025 returns): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590b.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 17, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.