4970

Tax on Accumulation Distribution of Trusts

Agency
IRS
Revision
2025
Fillable fields
63
Pages
2
Official source
IRS form page
Checked
October 21, 2026
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Page 1 of form 4970

Form 4970: Tax on Accumulation Distribution of Trusts

Form 4970, Tax on Accumulation Distribution of Trusts, is attached to a beneficiary's tax return. The IRS About page says a beneficiary of certain domestic trusts uses this form to figure the partial tax on accumulation distributions under section 667.

An accumulation distribution comes from a trust that accumulated its income instead of distributing it each year and paid taxes on that income. The instructions say the trustee notifies the beneficiary by completing Part IV of Schedule J (Form 1041) and gives the beneficiary a completed Part IV, which supplies the numbers for this form. The form spreads the distribution over earlier tax years and recomputes the tax for three of the five preceding years.

This is the 2025 version of the form, and its instructions are printed on page 2. You can fill out Form 4970 free in your browser on this page and download the result without an account.

What's on Form 4970

Items A to G

The beneficiary's name and Social Security number, the trust's name, address and EIN, the type of trust (domestic or foreign), the beneficiary's date of birth, and the number of trusts that made accumulation distributions this year.

Part I, lines 1 to 12

Average income and determination of computation years: the distribution, taxes the trust paid, tax-exempt interest, the number of earlier years, and the average amount for recomputing tax.

Line 13

Taxable income before this distribution for the 5 immediately preceding tax years, in columns for 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020.

Part II, lines 14 to 23

Tax attributable to the accumulation distribution, figured in three columns: recomputed taxable income, income tax before and after, a tax credit adjustment and alternative minimum tax adjustments.

Lines 24 to 28

The three columns are added, averaged, multiplied by the number of years, and reduced by the trust's taxes to give the partial tax on line 28.

How to fill out Form 4970

  1. 1

    Lines 1 to 7

    Lines 1, 4 and 6 come from Schedule J (Form 1041), line 37, columns (a), (b) and (c). Line 2 is any amount accumulated before the beneficiary was born or reached age 21. For a nonresident alien or foreign corporation, line 1 includes only the U.S. source or effectively connected part.

  2. 2

    Lines 8 to 12

    Line 8 counts the throwback years with entries on lines 32 through 36 of Part IV of Schedule J (Form 1041); there can be more than 5. Line 11 drops any year whose distribution in column (a) is less than line 10.

  3. 3

    Lines 13 to 16

    Enter taxable income for 2020 to 2024 as reported or as changed by the IRS, and zero if it is less than zero. Line 14 keeps three years, eliminating the highest and lowest. Line 15 repeats the line 12 amount in each column, and line 16 adds lines 14 and 15.

  4. 4

    Lines 17 to 23

    Figure the tax on line 16 with the tax rates for each earlier year, and enter the tax as originally reported on line 18. Line 20 holds any increase in limited credits. For line 22, the instructions say to use and attach that year's Form 4626, Form 6251 or Schedule I (Form 1041).

  5. 5

    Lines 24 to 28

    Add the three columns of line 23, divide by 3.0, multiply by the years on line 11, and subtract line 4. If zero or less, enter -0-. If estate or generation-skipping transfer taxes apply, the instructions say to reduce the partial tax proportionately.

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Where the result goes

Attach to the return

The form says to attach it to the beneficiary's tax return for the year of the accumulation distribution.

Individuals

The instructions say to include the line 28 amount on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 17l.

Trusts and decedents' estates

Include the amount on Form 1041, Schedule G, line 8, and write "From Form 4970" and the amount of the tax to the left of the line 8 entry space.

Other filers

Add the result to the total tax liability before the refundable credits on the income tax return for the year of the accumulation distribution.

Multiple trust rule

For line 4, the instructions count only trusts whose current and earlier accumulation distributions considered made in the same earlier years total $1,000 or more.

Related forms

Who files Form 4970?

  • Beneficiaries of certain domestic trusts

    The instructions say beneficiaries who received an accumulation distribution from certain domestic trusts that were created before March 1, 1984, file Form 4970, and point to section 665(c) for details.

  • Trustees supply the figures

    The trustee completes Part IV of Schedule J (Form 1041) to notify the beneficiary of an accumulation distribution, and gives the beneficiary that completed Part IV.

  • Distributions from more than one trust

    The instructions say to prepare a separate Form 4970 for each trust that made an accumulation distribution, and that the distributions can be arranged in any order.

  • Foreign trust beneficiaries

    A distribution from a foreign trust is reported with the partial tax on a 2025 Form 3520. The instructions say not to file Form 4970 for foreign trusts except as a worksheet attached to Form 3520 when those instructions say so.

  • Individuals, trusts and estates

    The beneficiary can be an individual, a trust or a decedent's estate, or another filer. The instructions say where each one carries the result from line 28.

The beneficiary who received the accumulation distribution completes the form and attaches it to their own return. The trustee supplies the figures on Schedule J (Form 1041).

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Questions about Form 4970

Who files Form 4970?

A beneficiary who received an accumulation distribution from certain domestic trusts created before March 1, 1984. It is attached to the beneficiary's own return.

Where do the numbers come from?

The trustee gives the beneficiary a completed Part IV of Schedule J (Form 1041). Lines 1, 4 and 6 come from line 37 of that schedule.

What if the trust is a foreign trust?

The instructions say the distribution and partial tax are reported on a 2025 Form 3520, and Form 4970 is used only as a worksheet attached to Form 3520 if those instructions direct it.

Is one form enough for several trusts?

No. The instructions say to prepare a separate Form 4970 for each trust that made an accumulation distribution.

Which years go on line 13?

Taxable income for 2020 through 2024, the 5 tax years before 2025, even if fewer than 5 years of the trust had accumulated income after the beneficiary became 21.

Where does an individual report line 28?

On Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 17l, according to the instructions.