RMD when spouse passes away
We have a client who’s husband passed away in July of 2012 and whom had already been taking RMD’s. In May of 2013 her husbands account was rolled over into her existing IRA account. My question is will she take a RMD this year based on her December 31, 2012 account balance (her IRA) or does she need to include her husbands rollover in the balance? The client took an RMD on her husbands account in 2012 after he passed away but this was before his account was rolled into her’s in May 2013.
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Wed, 2013-12-11 03:07
While the IRS Regs are less than clear, they do indicate that after the year of death, a surviving spouse who does the rollover is treated as if they owned the IRA the entire year. Accordingly, she should add the 12/31/2012 balance of that IRA to her own IRA 12/31 balance and calculate the 2013 RMD from the total value.