U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Forms

2020

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Instructions for Form 8915-B

Qualified 2017 Disaster Retirement Plan Distributions and Repayments
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code
unless otherwise noted.

General Instructions
Future Developments

For the latest information about
developments related to Form 8915-B and
its instructions, such as legislation enacted
after they were published, go to IRS.gov/
Form8915B.

What’s New
Coronavirus-related distributions. Do
not report coronavirus-related distributions
on Form 8915-B. Coronavirus-related
distributions are reported on Form 8915-E,
Qualified 2020 Disaster Retirement Plan
Distributions and Repayments. If you were
impacted by the coronavirus and you made
withdrawals from your retirement plan in
2020 before December 31, you may have
coronavirus-related distributions eligible for
special tax benefits on Form 8915-E.
Repayments. The repayment period for a
qualified 2017 disaster distribution ends 3
years and 1 day after the distribution was
received. This is particularly important if your
qualified 2017 disaster distribution was
received in 2017. Repayments reported on
2020 Form 8915-B can be used to reduce
the income reportable on your 2017, 2018,
2019, or 2020 tax return, as applicable; if you
have already filed your tax return for the year
in question, you will need to amend that
return.

Purpose of Form

Use 2020 Form 8915-B if you were
adversely affected by a 2017 disaster listed
in What 2017 Disasters Are Covered, later,
and you received a distribution that qualifies
for favorable tax treatment. For distributions
for qualified 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020
disasters, see Form 8915-A, Qualified 2016
Disaster Retirement Plan Distributions and
Repayments; Form 8915-C, Qualified 2018
Disaster Retirement Plan Distributions and
Repayments; Form 8915-D, Qualified 2019
Disaster Retirement Plan Distributions and
Repayments; and Form 8915-E, Qualified
2020 Disaster Retirement Plan Distributions
and Repayments, respectively, and their
instructions.
Qualified 2017 disaster distributions can't
be made in 2020. Only repayments of
qualified 2017 disaster distributions can be
made in 2020.

Note. Repayments of distributions from
retirement plans (other than IRAs) are
Mar 09, 2021

reported in Part I, and repayments of
distributions from IRAs are reported in Part II.
For details on qualified 2017 disaster

TIP distributions, see the 2018

Instructions for Form 8915B.

Who Must File

File 2020 Form 8915-B if either of the
following applies.
• You received a qualified 2017 disaster
distribution in 2018 that you are including in
income in equal amounts over 3 years.
• You made a repayment of a qualified
2017 disaster distribution in 2020.

When and Where To File

File 2020 Form 8915-B with your 2020 Form
1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR. If you are not
required to file an income tax return but are
required to file 2020 Form 8915-B, sign Form
8915-B and send it to the IRS at the same
time and place you would otherwise file 2020
Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.
The timing of your repayments will
determine whether you need to file an
amended return to claim them. See
Amending Form 8915-B, later.

Qualified 2017 Disaster
Distribution
What 2017 Disasters Are
Covered?

In order to have a qualified 2017 disaster
distribution, you must have been adversely
affected by:
• Hurricane Harvey (which includes
Tropical Storm Harvey),
• Hurricane Irma,
• Hurricane Maria, or
• The California wildfires.

How Is a Qualified 2017
Disaster Distribution Taxed?

Generally, a qualified 2017 disaster
distribution is included in your income in
equal amounts over 3 years. However, if you
elected, you could have included the entire
distribution in your income in the year of the
distribution. If you received more than one
distribution during 2017 or 2018, you must
have treated all the distributions for that year
the same way. Any repayments made before
you file your 2020 return and by the due date
(including extensions) reduce the amount of
the distribution included in your income.
Qualified 2017 disaster distributions aren’t
subject to the additional 10% tax (or the 25%
additional tax for certain distributions from
SIMPLE IRAs) on early distributions.
Cat. No. 71194R

Repayment of a Qualified 2017
Disaster Distribution
An amount paid more than 3 years
and 1 day after the distribution was
CAUTION received cannot be treated as a
repayment. For example, if your qualified
2017 disaster distribution was received on
October 4, 2017, and you chose to repay the
distribution, the repayment must be made
before October 5, 2020. Also, if your
qualified 2017 disaster distribution was
received on October 4, 2018, and you
choose to repay the distribution, the
repayment must be made before October 5,
2021.

!

If you choose, you can generally repay to an
eligible retirement plan any portion of a
qualified 2017 disaster distribution that is
eligible for tax-free rollover treatment. Also,
you can repay a qualified 2017 disaster
distribution from a retirement plan made on
account of hardship. However, see
Exceptions below for qualified 2017 disaster
distributions you can’t repay.
You have 3 years from the day after the
date you received the distribution to make a
repayment. The amount of your repayment
cannot be more than the amount of the
original distribution. Amounts that are repaid
are treated as a trustee-to-trustee transfer
and are not included in income. Also, for
purposes of the one-rollover-per-year
limitation for IRAs, a repayment to an IRA is
not considered a rollover.
Include on 2020 Form 8915-B any
repayments you make before filing your 2020
return. Any repayments you make will reduce
the amount of qualified 2017 disaster
distributions reported on your return for
2020. Do not include on your 2020 Form
8915-B any repayments you make later than
the due date (including extensions) for filing
your 2020 return. See Amending Form
8915-B, later. Also, any excess repayments
you make for 2020 will be carried back to
one or more of your 2017, 2018, or 2019
returns, as applicable.
Exceptions. You cannot repay the
following types of distributions.
1. Qualified 2017 disaster distributions
received as a beneficiary (other than a
surviving spouse).
2. Required minimum distributions.
3. Any distribution (other than from an
IRA) that is one of a series of substantially
equal periodic payments made (at least
annually) for:
a. A period of 10 years or more,
b. Your life or life expectancy, or

c. The joint lives or joint life
expectancies of you and your beneficiary.

Specific Instructions

Eligible retirement plan. An eligible
retirement plan can be any of the following.
• A qualified pension, profit-sharing, or
stock bonus plan (including a 401(k) plan).
• A qualified annuity plan.
• A tax-sheltered annuity contract.
• A governmental section 457 deferred
compensation plan.
• A traditional, SEP, SIMPLE, or Roth IRA.

Married filers. If both you and your spouse
are required to file Form 8915-B, file a
separate Form 8915-B for each of you.

Amending Form 8915-B

File Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual
Income Tax Return, to amend a return you
have already filed. Generally, Form 1040-X
must be filed within 3 years after the date the
original return was filed, or within 2 years
after the date the tax was paid, whichever is
later.
Depending on when a repayment is
made, you may need to file an amended tax
return to refigure your taxable income.
If you make a repayment after timely filing
your 2020 tax return but by the due date of
your 2020 return (including extensions),
include the repayment on your amended
2020 Form 8915-B.
If you make a repayment after the due
date of your 2020 return (including
extensions), but before you timely file your
2021 return, include the repayment on your
2021 Form 8915-B if you are repaying a
qualified 2018 disaster distribution received
in 2018. However, you may file an amended
2018 Form 8915B or an amended 2019 or
2020 Form 8915-B, if either of the following
applies. (But see the examples below. Also,
see the caution under Repayment of a
Qualified 2017 Disaster Distribution, earlier,
for limitations.)
• You elected to include all of your qualified
2017 disaster distributions in income
(instead of over 3 years) on your original
2017 or 2018 return.
• You received a qualified 2017 disaster
distribution in 2017 or 2018 and included it in
income over 3 years. You can amend your
2017, 2018, 2019, or 2020 tax return, as
applicable.
Example 1. You received a qualified
2017 disaster distribution in the amount of
$90,000 on October 16, 2018. You choose to
spread the $90,000 over 3 years ($30,000 in
income for 2018, 2019, and 2020). On
November 19, 2020, you make a repayment
of $40,000. For 2020, none of the qualified
2017 disaster distribution is included in
income. The excess repayment of $10,000
($40,000 - $30,000) can be carried back to
2018 or 2019.
Example 2. You received a qualified
2017 disaster distribution in the amount of
$90,000 on October 16, 2017. You choose to
spread the $90,000 over 3 years ($30,000 in
income for 2017, 2018, and 2019). On
November 19, 2020, you make a repayment
of $75,000. You carry back $30,000 to 2019
and $30,000 to 2018. You carry back
$15,000 to 2017.

Name and social security number (SSN).
If you file a joint return, enter only the name
and SSN of the spouse whose information is
being reported on the 2020 Form 8915-B.
Foreign address. If you have a foreign
address, enter the city name on the
appropriate line. Do not enter any other
information on that line, but also complete
the spaces below that line. Do not abbreviate
the country name. Follow the country's
practice for entering the postal code and the
name of the province, county, or state.
Write at the top of page 1. Write the
following at the top of page 1 of Form 8915-B
if your qualified 2017 distributions relate to:
• Hurricane Harvey, Irma, or Maria:
“Hurricane”;
• The California wildfires: “Wildfires”; or
• Both Hurricane Harvey, Irma, or Maria
and the California wildfires: “Hurricane and
Wildfires.”

Part I—Qualified 2017
Disaster Distributions
From Retirement Plans
(Other Than IRAs)

Complete Part I if any of the following apply.
• You had an amount on your 2018 Form
8915B, line 11, and you did not check the
box on that line.
• You made a repayment in 2020 of
qualified 2017 disaster distribution amounts
from line 10 of 2018 Form 8915B; or line 8 of
2017 Form 8915B.
Line 5. At any time during the 3-year period
beginning 1 day after the date you received a
qualified 2017 disaster distribution, you can
repay any portion of the distribution to an
eligible retirement plan that accepts rollover
contributions. You cannot, however, repay
more than the amount of the original
distribution. See Repayment of a Qualified
2017 Disaster Distribution, earlier, for details.
Enter on line 5 the amount of any
repayments you made before filing your
2020 return. Do not include any repayments
made later than the due date (including
extensions) for that return nor any
repayments of nontaxable amounts. If you
repaid more than the amount on line 1
(including any excess repayments from 2019
on line 4), the excess can be carried back.
Repayments made after the due date of your
2020 return (including extensions) but before
the due date of your 2021 return (including
extensions) will generally be reported on
your 2021 Form 8915-B if you are repaying a
qualified 2018 disaster distribution received
in 2018. However, you may have to file an
amended return in certain situations. See
Amending Form 8915-B, earlier.
Example. You received a $90,000
qualified 2017 disaster distribution on
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November 7, 2018, from your 401(k) plan.
You had an economic loss due to Hurricane
Maria. On April 2, 2021, you repay $30,000
to your 401(k) plan. You file your return on
April 10, 2021. Since the repayment was
made before you filed your 2020 return, not
later than the due date (including
extensions), and before your 3-year
repayment period ended, you would enter
the $30,000 repayment on line 5.
Line 6. Enter the total of lines 4 and 5.
If you repaid more than the amount
on line 1 (including any excess
CAUTION repayments from 2019 on line 4),
you can carry forward the excess repayment
from 2019 to 2020 Form 8915-B, but only if
you have not already carried back that
excess to a prior year.

!

Example. You received a qualified 2017
disaster distribution from a retirement plan
other than an IRA in the amount of $90,000
on November 15, 2017. You choose to
spread the $90,000 over 3 years ($30,000 in
income for 2017, 2018, and 2019). On June
10, 2019, you make a repayment of $40,000.
For 2019, none of the qualified 2017 disaster
distribution is included in income. On your
2019 Form 8915-B, you enter $40,000 on
line 8 and $30,000 on line 3. You carried
back the excess $10,000 ($40,000 $30,000) repayment to 2018. You transfer
the amounts from your 2019 form to your
2020 Form 8915-B as directed, entering
$40,000 on line 2 and $30,000 on line 3 of
that form. Your excess repayment from 2019
of $10,000 is entered on line 4 of your 2020
Form 8915-B. Because you have already
carried back the full $10,000 to 2018, you
cannot carry forward that $10,000 to 2020.
You cannot include that $10,000 on line 6.

Part II—Qualified 2017
Disaster Distributions
From Traditional, SEP,
SIMPLE, and Roth IRAs

Complete Part II if any of the following apply.
• You had an amount on your 2018 Form
8915B, line 26, and you did not check the
box on that line.
• You made a repayment in 2020 of
qualified 2017 disaster distribution amounts
from line 25 of 2018 Form 8915B; or line 16
of 2017 Form 8915B.
Line 12. At any time during the 3-year
period beginning 1 day after the date you
received a qualified 2017 disaster
distribution, you can repay any portion of the
distribution to an eligible retirement plan that
accepts rollover contributions. You cannot,
however, repay more than the amount of the
original distribution. See Repayment of a
Qualified 2017 Disaster Distribution, earlier,
for details.
Enter on line 12 the amount of any
repayments you made before filing your
2020 return. Do not include any repayments
made later than the due date (including
extensions) for that return nor any
repayments of nontaxable amounts. If you

Instructions for Form 8915-B (2020)

repaid more than the amount on line 8
(including any excess repayments from 2019
on line 11), the excess can be carried back.
Repayments made after the due date of your
2020 return (including extensions) but before
the due date of your 2021 return (including
extensions) will generally be reported on
your 2021 Form 8915-B if you are repaying a
qualified 2018 disaster distribution received
in 2018. However, you may have to file an
amended return in certain situations. See
Amending Form 8915-B, earlier.
Example. You received a $60,000
qualified 2017 disaster distribution on
October 2, 2018, from your traditional IRA.
You had an economic loss due to Hurricane
Harvey. On April 2, 2021, you repay $30,000
to your traditional IRA. You file your return on
April 10, 2021. Since the repayment was
made before you filed your 2020 return, not
later than the due date (including
extensions), and before your 3-year
repayment period ended, you would enter
the $30,000 repayment on line 12.
If, in 2020, you made a repayment of
a qualified 2017 disaster distribution
CAUTION that you opted to claim on Part III of
2017 Form 8915A, Qualified 2016 Disaster
Retirement Plan Distributions and
Repayments, any repayments of that
distribution in 2020 must be claimed on 2020
Form 8915-A, Part II. They can't be claimed
on 2020 Form 8915-B.

!

Example. In 2017, you reported qualified
2016 disaster distributions on 2017 Form
8915A and qualified 2017 disaster
distributions on 2017 Form 8915B. You
elected to spread the repayments over 3
years on both forms. You had to complete
2017 Form 8606; you chose to enter the
amounts from 2017 Form 8606, lines 15b
and 25b, on 2017 Form 8915A, lines 22 and
23; and you entered -0- on 2017 Form
8915B, lines 13 and 14. You make a

Instructions for Form 8915-B (2020)

repayment of those qualified 2017 disaster
distributions in November 2020, a date that
is not later than 3 years and 1 day after the
last qualified 2017 disaster distribution was
received in 2017. That repayment should be
entered on your 2020 Form 8915-A, line 9,
and not on 2020 Form 8915-B.
Line 13. Enter the total of lines 11 and 12.
If you repaid more than the amount
on line 8 (including any excess
CAUTION repayments from 2019 on line 11) ,
you can carry forward the excess repayment
from 2019 to 2020 Form 8915-B, but only if
you have not already carried back that
excess to a prior year.

!

Example. You received a qualified 2017
disaster distribution from an IRA in the
amount of $90,000 on November 15, 2017.
You choose to spread the $90,000 over 3
years ($30,000 in income for 2017, 2018,
and 2019). On June 10, 2019, you make a
repayment of $40,000. For 2019, none of the
qualified 2017 disaster distribution is
included in income. On your 2019 Form
8915-B, you enter $40,000 on line 17 and
$30,000 on line 12. You carried back the
excess $10,000 ($40,000 - $30,000)
repayment to 2018. You transfer the
amounts from your 2019 form to your 2020
Form 8915-B as directed, entering $40,000
on line 9 and $30,000 on line 10 of that form.
Your excess repayment from 2019 of
$10,000 is entered on line 11 of your 2020
Form 8915-B. Because you have already
carried back the full $10,000 to 2018, you
cannot carry forward that $10,000 to 2020.
You cannot include that $10,000 on line 13.
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