How to Fill Out and Submit the Principal IRA Distribution Form

To take money out of a Principal IRA, you download the Principal IRA distribution form, a one-page PDF on the company’s Find a Form page, fill in your account and tax details, sign it, and return it by fax, email, or mail. The form works for Traditional, Roth, SIMPLE, and SEP IRAs and covers one-time withdrawals, recurring payments, required minimum distributions, and full liquidations.1Principal. Find a Form for Individuals Most delays come from a small number of avoidable mistakes: the wrong form, a blank withholding field, a signature missing, or a payment account that doesn’t match your name.

Which Form to Download

Principal hosts three IRA distribution forms at principal.com. The general one, labeled “IRA distribution (PDF),” handles one-time and recurring withdrawals from any IRA type. A separate “Required minimum distribution (RMD) request (PDF)” is built specifically for RMDs, and a third form covers 72(t) substantially equal periodic payments.1Principal. Find a Form for Individuals Submitting the wrong one is a common reason paperwork bounces back.

You can also reach the form after logging into your Principal account. If a bank account is already linked, Principal may let you start a distribution online without downloading anything.2Principal. Help with IRAs Check the form number in the bottom corner to confirm you have the current version; Principal updates forms when tax law changes.

Filling Out the Form

Your Information

The top section asks for legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, phone number, and Principal account number (sometimes called your ID number, or the number your employer provided).1Principal. Find a Form for Individuals Every field has to match what Principal already has on file. Even a missing middle initial can trigger an identity verification hold.

Reason for the Distribution

The reason you select drives the distribution code Principal reports to the IRS on Form 1099-R, and that code drives your tax bill. The two most common:

  • Code 7 (normal distribution): you’re at least 59½, no penalty.
  • Code 1 (early distribution): you’re under 59½ with no exception known to the custodian. This triggers a 10% additional tax unless you claim an exception on your return.3Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498

If you qualify for a penalty exception, you may still see Code 1 on the 1099-R. That’s normal. You claim the exception yourself when filing, using Form 5329.

Amount and Type

Specify a partial withdrawal of a set dollar amount, a full liquidation, or scheduled periodic payments. For RMDs, you can request the calculated minimum or take more. A blank amount or a number larger than your balance will send the form back.

Tax Withholding

This is the section people most often get wrong, because the default withholding and your actual tax liability rarely match.

Federal law sets default withholding on a one-time IRA distribution at 10% of the gross amount.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 3405 You can elect a different percentage, from 0% upward, by filling in the federal withholding field. Leave it blank and Principal applies the 10% default. That’s often too little if you’re in a higher bracket, or more than you need if you’ve already made estimated payments.

State withholding varies. Some states require mandatory withholding tied to your federal election, others use a flat rate, and states without an income tax require nothing. Skip the state section in a mandatory-withholding state and Principal applies your state’s default, which may not match what you actually owe. Rates in states with an income tax generally run from about 1.5% to 6%.

Whatever you elect, Principal reports the distribution and the amounts withheld on Form 1099-R, sent by the end of January following the year of the withdrawal.5Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-R Report the same figures on your return; mismatches draw IRS letters.

How You Want to Be Paid

You get two options: a paper check to your address on file, or direct deposit by electronic funds transfer. Direct deposit is faster by several days and avoids lost checks, but it needs a routing number and an account number for a checking or savings account in your name.

If no bank account is linked yet, you’ll need to submit a separate Electronic Funds Transfer form. Principal processes that setup within three business days.2Principal. Help with IRAs Send the EFT form before or alongside your distribution request so the bank details are on file when the withdrawal processes.

The receiving account must be in the IRA owner’s name. Principal will not send funds to a third party’s account.

Submitting and What Happens Next

Once the form is signed and complete, return it by fax, email, or mail.1Principal. Find a Form for Individuals Fax and email skip postal transit. If you mail it, use a tracked service. The current mailing address and fax number are printed on the form and available through your online account.

Expect roughly three business days of processing after Principal receives the form.2Principal. Help with IRAs During that window Principal verifies your identity, confirms the form is complete, and runs compliance checks. You can track status through your online account, and Principal confirms by email or secure message when funds are released.

The most common reasons a form comes back:

  • Missing or illegible signature.
  • Withholding section left blank in a mandatory-withholding state.
  • Bank account name that doesn’t match the IRA owner.
  • Requested amount larger than the account balance.

If You’re Under 59½

The IRS adds a 10% additional tax on Traditional IRA distributions taken before age 59½, on top of ordinary income tax.6Internal Revenue Service. Substantially Equal Periodic Payments Several exceptions apply specifically to IRA distributions:7Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions

  • Total and permanent disability, with no cap.
  • Death; distributions to a beneficiary after the owner dies.
  • First-time home purchase, up to a $10,000 lifetime limit.
  • Qualified higher education expenses for you, your spouse, children, or grandchildren.
  • Unreimbursed medical expenses above 7.5% of adjusted gross income.
  • Health insurance premiums while unemployed, after receiving unemployment compensation for at least 12 consecutive weeks.
  • Birth or adoption, up to $5,000 per child, within one year of the event.
  • Domestic abuse victim, up to $10,000 or 50% of the account, whichever is less, for distributions after December 31, 2023.
  • Emergency personal expense, one per year up to the lesser of $1,000 or the vested balance over $1,000, also available after December 31, 2023.
  • Substantially equal periodic payments under Section 72(t), taken at least annually, using an IRS-approved method, and maintained for five years or until you turn 59½, whichever is later.

Even when an exception applies, expect Code 1 on your 1099-R. Claim the exception by attaching Form 5329 to your return.

If It’s a Required Minimum Distribution

Traditional IRA owners must begin annual withdrawals at a specific age tied to birth year. Born between 1951 and 1959: RMD age 73. Born in 1960 or later: age 75.8Federal Register. Required Minimum Distributions

The first RMD is due by April 1 of the year after you reach RMD age. Every RMD after that is due by December 31.9Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B (2025) Delay the first one to that April 1 and you’ll take two RMDs in the same calendar year, which can push you into a higher bracket.

Miss an RMD or take too little and the IRS charges a 25% excise tax on the shortfall, reduced to 10% if you correct the mistake within the IRS’s correction window.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4974 Principal offers a dedicated RMD request form if you’d rather keep RMD paperwork separate.1Principal. Find a Form for Individuals

Roth IRAs have no RMD during the original owner’s lifetime. The rule only reaches beneficiaries who inherit a Roth.

If You’re Rolling the Money Over

If you’re moving the money to another retirement account rather than spending it, how you route the transfer changes what gets withheld and what gets taxed.

Direct Rollover

In a direct rollover, Principal sends the money straight to the receiving IRA or plan. Nothing is withheld, nothing is taxable, no deadline runs. Select the rollover option on the form and provide the receiving institution’s details.

Indirect (60-Day) Rollover

In an indirect rollover, Principal pays you, and you have 60 days from receipt to deposit the full amount into another eligible retirement account.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 408 Miss the 60 days and the entire amount is a taxable distribution, plus the 10% penalty if you’re under 59½. The IRS can waive the deadline in cases of casualty, disaster, or events beyond your reasonable control, but that’s not a plan.

You’re also limited to one indirect IRA-to-IRA rollover in any 12-month period across all your IRAs combined.12Internal Revenue Service. Rollover Chart A second one inside that window becomes a fully taxable distribution, and the amount deposited into the receiving IRA counts as an excess contribution subject to a 6% annual penalty until removed. Direct rollovers don’t count toward the limit.

There’s a cash-flow trap. Principal withholds 10% by default on distributions paid to you, so a $20,000 distribution arrives as $18,000. To complete the rollover cleanly you still have to deposit the full $20,000 into the new account within 60 days, covering the $2,000 out of pocket and reclaiming it as a refund when you file.

If It’s a Roth IRA

Roth distributions follow an ordering rule because contributions were made with after-tax dollars:

  • Regular contributions come out first, tax-free and penalty-free at any age.
  • Conversion and rollover amounts come out next. The converted principal is tax-free, but each conversion has its own five-year clock. Pull conversion money before that clock runs and before 59½ and you owe the 10% penalty, though not additional income tax.
  • Earnings come out last. Withdrawing earnings completely tax-free requires you to be at least 59½ and to have had a Roth IRA open for at least five tax years from the year of your first Roth contribution.

The form doesn’t ask you to split contributions from earnings. Principal tracks the breakdown internally and reports it on the 1099-R. If you’re withdrawing only contribution amounts your tax hit should be zero, but check the figures against your own records before filing.

Qualified Charitable Distributions

If you’re 70½ or older, you can send money directly from your IRA to a qualifying charity, up to $111,000 per person in 2026, without counting it as taxable income.13Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs A qualified charitable distribution can also satisfy your RMD for the year once you’re at RMD age. The money has to move directly from the custodian to the charity; it can’t pass through your hands.

On Principal’s form, indicate that the payment goes to the charity rather than to your bank account. Contact Principal’s service team if the standard fields don’t clearly capture this; QCDs sometimes need separate instructions or a letter of direction with the charity’s name, address, and tax ID. The 1099-R won’t carry a special QCD code. You identify it as a QCD on your tax return.