How to Title an Inherited IRA: Format, Rules, and Deadlines

An inherited IRA is titled with three elements: the deceased owner’s full legal name, the beneficiary’s full legal name, and a clear marker identifying the account as inherited. A common format reads: [Deceased Owner’s Name], Deceased, IRA FBO [Beneficiary’s Name], Beneficiary. The IRS does not require one exact phrasing, but the original owner’s name must stay on the account and the inherited status must be visible on its face.¹ Get the label wrong and the custodian can report the entire balance as a taxable distribution in a single year.

The Standard Format and Accepted Variations

The IRS instructions for Form 5498 give the sample title “Brian Willow as beneficiary of Joan Maple,” and note that any similar phrasing identifying the original owner is acceptable.¹ Custodians build on that flexibility in different ways. “FBO” (For Benefit Of) is the most common shorthand, sometimes written “F/B/O” or spelled out. Some custodians use “as beneficiary of” instead. Others put the words “Inherited IRA” at the end of the title rather than the word “Beneficiary.”

None of those variations is wrong. What the title has to do is three things at once:

Show the deceased owner’s full legal name.
Show the beneficiary’s full legal name.
Include a marker (Beneficiary, Inherited IRA, or Beneficiary IRA) that distinguishes the account from a personal IRA the beneficiary opened themselves.¹

The label matters because it controls IRS reporting. A properly titled inherited IRA generates Form 1099-R only when a distribution actually occurs. Strip the inherited designation, or merge the funds into a personal IRA when that isn’t allowed, and the custodian may report the whole balance as a taxable distribution.

Titling When There Are Multiple Beneficiaries

When more than one person inherits an IRA, each beneficiary should end up with a separately titled inherited IRA. The split has to match the percentages on the original beneficiary designation form. Each new account uses the same format, with a different beneficiary name:

Jane Smith, Deceased, IRA FBO Alex Smith, Beneficiary
Jane Smith, Deceased, IRA FBO Morgan Smith, Beneficiary

Separate accounts aren’t just tidier. If beneficiaries share a single inherited IRA, required minimum distributions are calculated using the oldest beneficiary’s life expectancy, which speeds up the withdrawal timeline for everyone. Splitting the IRA into individual accounts by December 31 of the year after the owner’s death lets each beneficiary follow their own distribution schedule.² Miss that date and the oldest beneficiary’s age governs the group.

The Surviving Spouse’s Choice

A surviving spouse is the only beneficiary who can treat an inherited IRA as their own. A spouse can retitle the account entirely in their own name, dropping the deceased owner’s name and the inherited or beneficiary label. Once retitled, the account follows the spouse’s own required minimum distribution schedule.²

A spouse can also keep the inherited IRA structure and use the standard beneficiary title. That choice sometimes makes sense for a spouse younger than 59½ who needs access to the funds without paying the 10% early withdrawal penalty that applies to personal IRA distributions before that age.²

If the spouse takes a distribution and then rolls it into their own IRA, the money must be redeposited within 60 days or the amount becomes taxable income. The IRS can waive this deadline in limited circumstances, but relying on a waiver is a bad plan.³

Non-Spouse Beneficiaries Must Keep the Inherited Label

Every non-spouse beneficiary has to use the inherited IRA titling format. Federal law bars non-spouse beneficiaries from rolling inherited IRA assets into their own personal retirement accounts.⁴ If a non-spouse beneficiary moves the money into a personal IRA or retitles the account without the inherited designation, the entire balance is treated as a taxable distribution.

This is true whether the beneficiary is subject to the 10-year depletion rule or qualifies as an eligible designated beneficiary (a minor child of the owner, a disabled or chronically ill individual, or someone not more than 10 years younger than the deceased). Those categories change the distribution schedule, not the way the account is labeled.⁵

Inherited Roth IRAs

An inherited Roth IRA follows the same titling rules as an inherited traditional IRA. The account title still needs the deceased owner’s name, the beneficiary’s name, and the inherited designation. The tax treatment of withdrawals differs, but the format on the account does not.⁵

When a Trust or Estate Is the Named Beneficiary

If a trust or estate is named as the IRA beneficiary rather than a person, the inherited IRA is titled in the name of the fiduciary (trustee or executor) acting on behalf of the trust or estate. The deceased owner’s name still appears in the title. A typical version reads: “Jane Doe, Deceased, IRA FBO The Jane Doe Revocable Trust, Beneficiary.”

Trusts that meet the Treasury’s see-through (sometimes called look-through) requirements let the custodian treat the individual trust beneficiaries as the effective beneficiaries for distribution purposes. A trust that does not qualify generally must be emptied within five years when the owner died before their required beginning date, or based on the owner’s remaining life expectancy if death occurred after that date.⁵ The structural drafting is worth an estate attorney’s time.

Documents the Custodian Will Ask For

Retitling itself is administrative, but paperwork gaps are the usual reason it stalls. Have these ready before contacting the custodian:

A certified copy of the death certificate. Most custodians require an original certified copy, not a photocopy. Order several from the vital records office; other institutions will want them too.
The custodian’s inherited IRA form, sometimes called an Inherited IRA Application, Beneficiary Claim Form, or Successor Account Form.
A government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary.
A Medallion Signature Guarantee, if the custodian requires one for transferring securities. This is not the same as notarization; you can typically obtain the stamp from a bank or brokerage where you already hold an account.

On the form, use the exact legal names shown on the death certificate and on the original IRA’s beneficiary designation. Small discrepancies, like a middle initial in place of a full middle name, are enough to delay processing. If there are multiple beneficiaries, include the beneficiary designation form showing each person’s percentage share. Most custodians complete a retitling within five to ten business days once the package is in. Wait for the written or digital confirmation before assuming the new account is active.

Deadlines Tied to the New Title

Retitling itself has no hard IRS deadline, but several related dates carry real consequences:

December 31 of the year after the owner’s death, for multiple beneficiaries: separate inherited IRAs must be established by this date, or the oldest beneficiary’s life expectancy governs everyone’s RMDs.²
December 31 of the year after the owner’s death, for the first RMD: beneficiaries who must take annual distributions owe the first one by this date.
December 31 of the tenth year after the year of death: non-eligible designated beneficiaries must have the account fully depleted by then.⁵
60 days for a spousal rollover: a surviving spouse who takes a distribution and wants to roll it into their own IRA has to complete the rollover within 60 days.³

What Happens When the Title Is Wrong

Titling mistakes compound quickly:

A missed RMD triggers a 25% excise tax on the amount that should have been withdrawn. Correcting the shortfall within two years drops the penalty to 10%.⁶
An improper rollover by a non-spouse turns the entire balance into a taxable distribution in the year of the error.
A failed 10-year depletion carries the same 25% excise tax on the amount left in the account.

The most expensive mistake is also the most common: a non-spouse beneficiary who deposits inherited IRA funds into their own personal IRA. That single action disqualifies the account, and by the time the 1099-R arrives the following January, the error is usually locked in. Getting the title right at the outset is what prevents it.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 (2025) – Section: Inherited IRAs
2
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B (2025), Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
3
Internal Revenue Service. Rollovers of Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts
5
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Beneficiary
6
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs