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Form 5329 Exception Code 22: Domestic Abuse Victims

Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Exception code 22 is the number you write on Form 5329 line 2 when the early distribution was a qualified distribution to a victim of domestic abuse. The instructions tie it to a one-year window that begins on a date the person is a victim of domestic abuse by a spouse or a domestic partner. You enter the amount you can exclude on line 2 and the number 22 in the space provided.

What code 22 says

The exception list in the Form 5329 instructions gives code 22 this description: “Qualified distributions to victims of domestic abuse.” It then defines the term: “A distribution made from an applicable eligible retirement plan and made to an individual during the 1year period beginning on any date on which the individual is a victim of domestic abuse by a spouse or a domestic partner.” For more detail the instructions send you to “See Notice 2024-55”. Related new-style entries are exception code 23 and exception code 19. The full set of reasons that can avoid the tax is on the early withdrawal penalty exceptions page, and the form itself is mapped in Form 5329 explained.

What Publication 590-B adds for IRAs

Publication 590-B lists this situation among the ways to avoid the tax: “The distribution is to a domestic abuse victim.” It repeats the definition in the IRA chapter: “An eligible distribution to a domestic abuse victim is a distribution to a domestic abuse victim from an applicable eligible retirement plan and made to that individual during the 1-year period beginning on any date on which the individual is a victim of domestic abuse by a spouse or domestic partner.”

Publication 575, which covers pensions and annuities, describes the start of the rule this way: “a distribution to a domestic abuse victim is not subject to the 10% additional tax on early distributions if the distribution meets certain requirements.” It also lists the exception among those for qualified retirement plans: “From an applicable eligible retirement plan to victims of domestic abuse”.

The dollar limit

Publication 590-B puts a ceiling on the amount: “An eligible distribution to a domestic abuse victim must not exceed the lesser of $10,300 for 2025 or 50% of the present value of the IRA.”

Publication 575 states the same ceiling for a plan in its own words: “An eligible distribution to a domestic abuse victim must not exceed the lesser of $10,300 or 50% of the present value of the nonforfeitable accrued benefit of the employee under the plan.” Check which publication matches the account the money came from, an IRA or an employer plan, before you decide how much to put on line 2.

How to claim it on Form 5329

Start with the reason the form exists. The instructions say “In general, you must file Form 5329 to report an exception to the 10% additional tax on an early distribution from a qualified retirement plan, including an IRA.”

Then use line 2. The instructions read “Enter on line 2 the amount that you can exclude.” and “In the space provided, enter the applicable exception number”. For code 22 the exception number is 22. Publication 575 describes the same steps: “On line 2, enter the amount that can be excluded and the exception number shown in the Form 5329 instructions.”

If the Form 1099-R already shows an exception, you may not need the form at all. Publication 575 explains what to do when it does not: “You should complete Form 5329 if you meet an exception to the tax on early distributions but box 7 of your Form 1099-R doesn’t indicate an exception.” The box 7 letters and numbers are decoded on the 1099-R box 7 codes page.

If you repay the money

Publication 590-B treats a domestic abuse distribution as one that can be repaid: “Contributions made to the eligible retirement plan as a repayment of one of the early distributions listed below may be eligible for taxfree rollover treatment:” and the list includes “Domestic abuse victim distributions”. It adds “You can make one or more contributions to an eligible retirement plan, including an IRA, during the 3-year period beginning on the day after the date the distribution was received.”

A repayment can also create a filing duty. Publication 590-B says you do not file Form 8606 just for receiving distributions “Not unless you have ever made a nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA or repaid, in whole or part, emergency personal expense distributions, qualified birth or adoption distributions, a domestic abuse victim distribution, or a terminally ill individual distribution.” The form is explained on the Form 8606 page.

Where it goes next

Line 2 feeds line 3. The form’s caption for line 3 reads “Amount subject to additional tax. Subtract line 2 from line 1”. Line 3 then feeds line 4, whose caption reads “Additional tax. Enter 10% (0.10) of line 3. Include this amount on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 8”. For couples the instructions add “If both you and your spouse are required to file Form 5329, complete a separate form for each of you.” The Part I lines are walked through on the Part I lines 1 to 4 page, and the Schedule 2 line is covered on the Schedule 2 page.

Edition and line numbers

This page reads the 2025 Form 5329 and its 2025 instructions, and where a Publication is cited, the 2025-returns edition of that Publication. 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. The code 22 wording and the dollar limit are as quoted above. Check the tax year printed on the form you are filling in, and use the line numbers and exception numbers on that year’s form, because a different year’s form can number or word them differently.

Common mistakes

  • Entering code 22 for money taken outside the window. The instructions define the distribution as one made “during the 1year period beginning on any date on which the individual is a victim of domestic abuse by a spouse or a domestic partner.”
  • Using the wrong ceiling for the account. For an IRA the publication says “must not exceed the lesser of $10,300 for 2025 or 50% of the present value of the IRA.”
  • Leaving line 2 blank because the payer did not flag it. The instructions say “Enter on line 2 the amount that you can exclude.” and Publication 575 says to complete the form when box 7 does not indicate the exception.

Related: Form 5329 explained, Early withdrawal penalty exceptions, 1099-R box 7 codes, Form 8606, and Schedule 2 (Form 1040).

Sources

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.

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