Revised Form 5329
Form 5329 allows, among other things, individuals who believe that they failed to timely receive a required minimum distribution due to reasonable cause to request a waiver of the 50% excise tax. However, historically, individuals using this method have always had to first pay the excise tax and then request a claim for refund.

The Form has now been revised so that individuals who believe that the failure was due to a reasonable error to request a waiver of the excise tax without first paying the tax. The applicable instructions instruct the taxpayers to attach a statement of explanation complete Part VIII of the form, make the appropriate “RC” annotation and enter the amount they want waived on the designated line. (Form 5329, “Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts,” IRS Employee Plans News, Special Edition January, 2008, http://www.irs.gov/.)