How to Correct these 5498 Errors

For Non spouse Inherited Traditional IRA, if the decedent passed away 1/2015, (having taken her 2015 RMD) , even though the IRA account was not transitioned into an inherited IRA until 2016 at which time beneficiary took their RMD for 2016, (and of course no contributions can be made) shouldn’t there only be a 5498 for 2016 for the new inherited account– not the original one, since the decedent passed away in 2015? They also erroneously placed an amount in Box 1 /Contributions (none were made) and indicated in box 11 that 2017 RMDs was required for this closed account.

Based on an earlier answer, I guess the Custodian would not need to send a 5498 to the Beneficiary for the new inherited account since no Contributions were made, but would need to file one with the IRS, right?

If my premise in sentence one above is correct, since this has been erroneously filed with the IRS, what is the best way to correct the 5498 having been sent in the name of the deceased for that original IRA account and with the incorrect data: have custodian reissue the 5498 (still in deceased’s name since that was the original which needs to be corrected) with “Corrected” box checked and leave Box 1/Contributions and Box 11 Blank and show Blank or $0 in Box 5 FMV since that account was closed in 11/2016?
And then do I just assume they are sending a 5498 for the new inherited account with the Beneficiary’s name and Box 1 blank since the beneficiary won’t get a copy because they of course didn’t make contributions to it? I’m concerned about not seeing what they’re sending to the IRS since I won’t get a copy and they’ve already made mistakes. Thank you.



The IRS knows that it often takes beneficiaries considerable time to act on an inherited IRA and have it retitled properly. In some cases the beneficiary may not even know about the inherited IRA for years. Therefore, the following paragraph has been printed in the 5498 Inst ever since 1989, and custodians will generally not correct 5498 forms later found not to be applicable to the situation. If the IRS has a question (which is very rare due to limited oversight of beneficiary IRA RMDs) they will ask:

If the IRA trustee has no knowledge of the death of an IRA owner until after the reporting date (May 31), no corrective filing of the Form 5498 is required.  However, if the executor requests the date of death valuation, the trustee must provide the information in a timely manner.

 

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