Choose the payment route first
A direct rollover sends eligible pre-tax employer-plan money to the receiving account. An indirect rollover pays you and generally withholds 20%. The second route creates a cash gap: to roll over the full gross distribution, you need other money to replace the withheld amount. This worksheet handles only an eligible, entirely pre-tax employer-plan distribution.
A $10,000 payment and the cash gap
An indirect $10,000 distribution leaves $8,000 cash after $2,000 withholding. Rolling only that $8,000 leaves $2,000 of principal outside the rollover. Selecting a $10,000 rollover instead requires $2,000 of other cash. Withholding remains a tax-payment credit; it is not necessarily the final tax on an amount you keep.
Date of receipt matters
Enter the date you actually received payment. The ordinary window is 60 days after receipt; the calculator uses calendar dates, not business days. It does not decide eligibility for a waiver, self-certification or disaster relief. The date is a planning check, not proof that a custodian received and accepted a rollover on time.
| $10,000 indirect distribution | Only $8,000 rolled | Full $10,000 rolled |
|---|---|---|
| Withholding | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Outside cash required | $0 | $2,000 |
| Principal not rolled | $2,000 | $0 |
Before moving money
Ask the plan administrator whether the distribution is eligible, verify the receiving account can accept it, and confirm processing instructions before payment. Required minimum distributions, hardship withdrawals and corrective excess distributions are not included. IRA distributions, designated Roth accounts, after-tax basis, early-distribution additional tax and a final tax return are outside this worksheet. For mixed pre-tax and basis money, use the separate allocation tool.
Official sources
Rules checked October 5, 2026. Publication 590-A and Publication 560 use 2025 mechanics; indexed 2026 limits use Notice 2025-67.