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Form 5498 Box 11 and Box 12: RMD Checkbox and Amount

Updated September 29, 2026. Quick answer: Box 11 of Form 5498 is a checkbox that tells the IRS a required minimum distribution (RMD) applies for the next year. Boxes 12a and 12b are optional, and the IRS does not require the trustee to report the RMD amount or date to the IRS.

Box 11, the checkbox

The IRS instruction to the trustee reads: “Check the box if the participant must take an RMD for 2027.” The instructions read here are the 2026 edition of the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498, which cover Form 5498 for 2026 and are written for the IRA trustee or issuer that files it. It adds a timing rule: “You are required to check the box for the year in which the IRA participant reaches age 73 even though the RMD for that year need not be made until April 1 of the following year.”

Boxes 12a and 12b are optional

The instructions call these boxes a convenience: “Boxes 12a and 12b are provided for your use to report RMD dates and amounts to participants.” Box 12a is described as “Enter the RMD date if you are using Form 5498 to report the additional information.” and Box 12b as “Enter the RMD amount if you are using Form 5498 to report the additional information under Alternative one.” For the IRS itself, “You are not required to report to the IRS the amount or the date by which the distribution must be made.”

The two ways a trustee tells you

A trustee has to tell you about an RMD separately by January 31: “you must provide a statement to the IRA participant by January 31 regarding the RMD”. Alternative one gives a number. The instructions say to “include in the statement the amount of the RMD with respect to the IRA for the calendar year and the date by which the distribution must be made”. Alternative two gives a notice: “the statement informs the participant that a minimum distribution with respect to the IRA is required for the calendar year and the date by which such amount must be distributed”.

Why the trustee’s amount may not be yours

Alternative one is a simplified calculation. The instructions say “The amount may be calculated assuming the sole beneficiary of the IRA is not a spouse more than 10 years younger than the participant.” and “Use the value of the account as of December 31 of the prior year to compute the amount.” If your spouse is more than 10 years younger, see the joint life table page. CMG’s RMD table and RMD age guide cover the rules themselves.

Common mistakes

  • Treating a trustee’s Box 12b amount as the final figure. It can assume no spouse more than 10 years younger.
  • Expecting Box 11 to carry the amount. It is only a checkbox.
  • Waiting for the IRS to report the RMD amount. The instructions say the trustee is not required to.

Related: Form 5498 Box 5: Fair Market Value of Account, Form 5498 Box 1: IRA Contributions Explained, the RMD table, how the RMD age works, and the joint life table for a younger spouse.

Every box in one place: the Form 5498 boxes table. A withdrawal from an IRA is reported on Form 1099-R instead; see the Form 1099-R Box 7 codes.

Figures verified against the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 (2026 edition, posted as a draft proof dated June 18, 2026), the IRS Form 5498 participant copy and the IRS About Form 5498 page on September 30, 2026. No 2027 figures were announced on the pages read.

Sources

Source: the IRS instructions for the filer of Form 5498, read at irs.gov on September 29, 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.