spouse inherits Roth IRA
Suppose spouse W inherits a Roth IRA from her husband H.
Can W elect to treat the inherited Roth IRA as her own and thereby avoid RMDs during her lifetime?
Suppose spouse W inherits a Roth IRA from her husband H.
Can W elect to treat the inherited Roth IRA as her own and thereby avoid RMDs during her lifetime?
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Fri, 2024-04-19 21:52
Yes. Once this is done her 5 year holding period for W will be the longer of spouse’s Roth IRA or her own Roth IRA, but the Roth will not be qualified until the 5 years is met and she turns 59.5.
If W will need distributions before her own Roth is qualified, she could keep it as inherited Roth IRA and once 5 years is reached for the inherited Roth IRA, it would be qualified and tax free even if her own Roth IRA is not. So the actual situation depends on several factors, age of each Roth, and age of each spouse.