4972

Tax on Lump-Sum Distributions

Agency
IRS
Revision
2025
Fillable fields
58
Pages
4
Official source
IRS form page
Checked
October 21, 2026
Fill 4972 online
Page 1 of form 4972

Form 4972: Tax on Lump-Sum Distributions

Form 4972 figures the tax on a qualified lump-sum distribution from a qualified plan using the 20% capital gain election, the 10-year tax option, or both. The form's subtitle says it is for distributions from qualified plans of participants born before January 2, 1936.

The instructions say these are special formulas used to figure a separate tax on the distribution, paid once for the year the distribution is received, not over the next 10 years. The separate tax is added to the regular tax figured on other income. The amounts come from the Form 1099-R the payer sends.

The form is attached to Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR or 1041, and its instructions are printed on pages 2 to 4 of the PDF. This page covers the 2025 form. You can fill out Form 4972 free in your browser on this page and download the result without an account.

What's on Form 4972

Header

Name of recipient of distribution and identifying number.

Part I: can you use the form

Yes or no questions on lines 1 through 5b about the entire balance, rollovers, the participant's birth date, 5 years of participation and earlier use of Form 4972.

Part II: 20% capital gain election

Line 6 takes the capital gain part from Form 1099-R, box 3, and line 7 multiplies it by 20% (0.20).

Part III: 10-year tax option

Lines 8 through 29 work from the taxable amount, death benefit exclusion, annuity value, minimum distribution allowance and federal estate tax to the tax figured with the Tax Rate Schedule.

Line 30: total tax

Adds lines 7 and 29. The form says to include it on Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, line 16 (check box 2), or Form 1041, Schedule G, line 1b.

Worksheets and Tax Rate Schedule

The instructions carry an NUA Worksheet, a Death Benefit Worksheet, a multiple recipients worksheet and the Tax Rate Schedule used on lines 24 and 27.

How to fill out Form 4972

  1. 1

    Name and identifying number

    Enter the recipient's name and identifying number. The instructions say to add qualified distributions for the same participant and file a separate form for each participant. Spouses filing jointly who each received one file a separate form for each spouse.

  2. 2

    Part I

    Answer lines 1 through 5b. The form says not to use it if line 1 is "No", if line 2 is "Yes", if both lines 3 and 4 are "No", or if line 5a or 5b is "Yes" for that distribution.

  3. 3

    Part II, lines 6 and 7

    Enter the amount from Form 1099-R, box 3, on line 6, or use the NUA Worksheet or Death Benefit Worksheet when they apply. Multiply by 20% on line 7. Leave line 6 blank and go to Part III when not making the election.

  4. 4

    Part III, lines 8 through 17

    Enter box 2a (minus box 3 if Part II was completed). Line 9 is the death benefit exclusion for a beneficiary of a participant who died before August 21, 1996, line 11 the annuity value from box 8, and lines 13 to 16 the minimum distribution allowance.

  5. 5

    Part III, lines 18 through 29

    Enter any federal estate tax attributable to the distribution on line 18. Multiply by 10% on line 23, find the tax in the Tax Rate Schedule on line 24, and multiply it by 10.0 on line 25. Lines 26 to 28 repeat this for any annuity value.

  6. 6

    Line 30 and your return

    Add lines 7 and 29. Include the result on Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, line 16 with box 2 checked, or on Form 1041, Schedule G, line 1b, and attach Form 4972.

Why fill Form 4972 on indox

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Where it goes, timing and limits

Attach it to your return

The instructions say to attach Form 4972 to Form 1040 or 1040-SR (individuals), Form 1040-NR (nonresident aliens), or Form 1041 (estates or trusts).

Original or amended return

The form can go with an original or amended return. For an amended return, the instructions give a window of generally 3 years after the original return was filed or 2 years after the tax was paid, whichever is later.

Once per participant

The instructions say that after 1986 Form 4972 can be used only once for each plan participant. More than one lump-sum distribution for the same participant in 1 tax year is combined on a single form.

Reporting on Form 1040 lines 5a and 5b

If Part III is used, the instructions say not to include any part of the distribution on Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, lines 5a and 5b, or on Form 1041, line 8.

Time estimate

For filers other than individuals, the form estimates 19 min. for recordkeeping, 1 hr., 36 min. for learning about the law or the form, 2 hr., 7 min. for preparing it and 20 min. for copying, assembling and sending it.

Related forms

Who uses Form 4972?

  • Plan participants born before January 2, 1936

    Part I line 4 asks whether the recipient was a plan participant who received the distribution, was born before January 2, 1936, and was in the plan for at least 5 years before the year of the distribution.

  • Beneficiaries of a participant

    Part I line 3 covers a distribution paid to a beneficiary of a plan participant who was born before January 2, 1936. The instructions say a separate Form 4972 is filed for each participant's distribution.

  • Alternate payees

    The instructions say a spouse or former spouse of a participant born before January 2, 1936, who received the distribution as an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, can use the form.

  • Estates and trusts

    An estate or trust that receives the distribution attaches Form 4972 to Form 1041. The instructions cover trusts that shared a distribution with other trusts or with other recipients.

  • Distributions that do not qualify

    The instructions list examples that are not qualified lump-sum distributions, such as a distribution from an IRA, from a section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity, or the part not rolled over in a partial rollover.

The recipient of the distribution completes the form and attaches it to their own return. Part I asks the questions that decide whether the form applies.

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Questions about Form 4972

What is a qualified lump-sum distribution?

The instructions say it is the distribution or payment in 1 tax year of a plan participant's entire balance from all of an employer's qualified plans of one kind, such as pension, profit-sharing or stock bonus plans. The participant was born before January 2, 1936.

Can Form 4972 be used for an IRA distribution?

The instructions list a distribution from an IRA among the distributions that are not qualified lump-sum distributions.

What is the 20% capital gain election?

Part II applies a 20% rate to the capital gain portion shown in Form 1099-R, box 3. The instructions say only the taxable amount from pre-1974 participation qualifies for capital gain treatment.

Is the 10-year tax paid over 10 years?

No. The instructions say the tax is paid only once, for the year the distribution is received, not over the next 10 years.

How often can Form 4972 be used?

After 1986, only once for each plan participant, according to the instructions. An election as a beneficiary does not affect an election for distributions from your own plan.

Where does the tax from Form 4972 go?

Line 30 is included on Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, line 16 with box 2 checked, or on Form 1041, Schedule G, line 1b.