Form 1099-R Box 7a
Code 4: Death
The payment was made to a beneficiary or estate after the account owner’s death.
Usual federal tax treatment
The taxable amount is generally ordinary income to the recipient; the early-distribution additional tax does not apply.
What to do next
Inherited-account distribution rules may also require annual or 10-year withdrawals.
Where code 4 flows on your return
The taxable amount on this 1099-R flows to Form 1040 Line 4b (inherited IRA) or Line 5b (inherited pension/annuity) on the beneficiary's own return. Beneficiaries of inherited IRAs also need to track their required distribution schedule (annual RMDs, the 10-year rule, or both) separately from this single year's 1099-R.
How code 4 works
Code 4 applies to any distribution made to a beneficiary — a surviving spouse, other individual, trust, or estate — after the account owner's death, regardless of the beneficiary's own age. The 10% additional tax never applies to a code 4 distribution, even if the beneficiary is under 59½, because the exception is based on the reason for the distribution, not the recipient's age.
Code 4 says nothing about how much you are required to withdraw going forward. Under SECURE Act rules, most non-spouse designated beneficiaries must empty an inherited account within 10 years of the owner's death, sometimes with additional annual RMDs during that window if the original owner had already reached their required beginning date. A surviving spouse generally has more options, including rolling the account into their own IRA.
Worked example
After her father's death, Nadia inherits his traditional IRA and takes an $8,000 distribution in her first year as beneficiary. Her 1099-R shows code 4 and $8,000 taxable in Box 2a. The $8,000 flows to Line 4b as ordinary income with no 10% additional tax, even though Nadia is only 34. Separately, Nadia must track whether the 10-year rule requires annual withdrawals in her case.
Estimate this distribution
Enter Box 1, Box 2a, Box 4, your age, other income, and code 4 to estimate taxable income and possible additional tax.
Open the 1099-R calculatorFrequently asked questions
Does the beneficiary's age matter for code 4?
No. The 10% additional tax exception for death applies regardless of how old the beneficiary is when they receive the distribution — a 25-year-old and a 70-year-old beneficiary both avoid the additional tax on a code 4 distribution.
Does code 4 tell me how much I am required to withdraw this year?
No — code 4 only reports what was actually distributed and its penalty treatment. Your required distribution schedule (annual RMDs, the 10-year rule, or both) depends on your beneficiary type and the original owner's age at death, tracked separately.
What options does a surviving spouse have that other beneficiaries do not?
A surviving spouse can generally roll the inherited IRA into their own IRA or treat it as their own, using their own RMD schedule going forward — options that are not available to most non-spouse beneficiaries, who are generally bound by the 10-year rule.