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Thinking of using your IRA as a “short-term loan” to raise some extra cash for the holidays? What could go wrong? Well, actually, two major things could go wrong. And either could lead to serious tax headaches.Let’s say Chloe started her holiday shopping early this year and, as usual, spent more than she had budgeted.

Question:My father passed away in 2019 and left me an IRA. Will the SECURE Act apply, or will it be grandfathered under the pre-2020 rules?Thank you.Aram

The clock is ticking if you are considering converting your Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 2020. More IRA owners are making this move this year as historically low tax rates and COVID-related income losses have combined to make this an ideal time to trade off the tax hit of a conversion for the promise of future tax-free Roth IRA earnings.

Thanksgiving is behind us, and the end of the year will be here soon. (Many of us are truly thankful for that!) This is a good time to remind you of certain tax breaks that will expire before we turn over the calendar to 2021. Many of these actions require cooperation from third-party IRA custodians and plan administrators, so you need to act fast. As that great philosopher Yogi Berra once said, “It gets late early out there.”

The IRS has recently added a new reason for self-certification of late rollovers to its list. Revenue Procedure 2020-46 modifies the list of reasons to include an IRA or company plan distribution made to a state unclaimed property fund and later claimed by an IRA owner or plan participant. Rev. Proc. 2020-46 is effective as of October 16.

We continue to get questions about the limits that apply for folks who participate in multiple company savings plans at the same time or who switch jobs in the middle of the year. What’s confusing is that there are two limits – the “deferral limit” and the “annual additions limit,” and you need to comply with both.Deferral limit. The deferral limit is based on the total pre-tax and Roth deferrals (but not after-tax contributions) you make to ALL your plans for the year. The limit is indexed periodically and for 2020 (and 2021) is $19,500, or $26,000 if you’re age 50 or older by the end of the year.

Question:Is there any problem with someone who is self-employed and has an active SEP making a deductible SEP contribution and an IRA QCD after age 70 1/2? In this case, the QCD would come from the IRA while the SEP continues to be funded. Does any offset apply?BillAnswer:Hi Bill,This is an interesting question!

Both Roth 401(k)s and Roth IRAs offer the ability to make after-tax contributions now in exchange for tax-free earnings down the road if the rules are followed. However, there are some important differences between the two retirement accounts that you will want to understand.1. Contributions limits are higher for Roth 401(k)sOne major difference is in the amount that you may contribute. Your Roth IRA contribution is limited to a maximum of $6,000 for 2020 if you are under age 50.

Good news! You can look forward to somewhat smaller required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your IRA and company retirement savings plan beginning in 2022. That’s because, on November 6, the IRS released new life expectancy tables that are used to calculate RMDs. The new tables are not effective until 2022. RMDs are waived for 2020, and RMDs for 2021 will be calculated under the current tables.

Great work you all do. Been a reader of Ed for a long time. How would this scenario work? New client of mine's husband passed away in 2019 and he had not taken his RMD. The plan was to transfer the account to my firm and take the RMD when it got to my firm as there was plenty of time. However, the insurance company kept rejecting the transfer paperwork (as they did not tell the client everything they needed to submit).