Whenever you receive an IRA distribution, you have 60 days from the day you receive it to roll it over, tax-free, to another IRA. The failure to complete a rollover within 60 days means the funds aren't eligible for rollover, and that means the IRA distribution will be taxable to you. Also, if you’re under age 59 ½ at the time, the 10% early distribution penalty will apply. But in some cases, you can get more time to complete a tax-free rollover.
Private Letter Ruling 201347025 is an IRS first when it comes to the 60-day rollover rule. A taxpayer we will call "Ron" asserted that his failure to accomplish IRA rollovers within the 60-day rollover window was due to inaccurate advice from an IRS agent. Click to find out what happened to Ron.
There’s a common belief that if you have a 401(k) plan where you work and you contribute to it, you’re not allowed to also contribute to your IRA for the same year. But that’s not true; you’re allowed to contribute to both.
Most of us know about the 10% early distribution penalty, and still many of us know there are certain ways to avoid it. One of those ways is the "age 55 exception." We look at the "age 55 exception" FAQs in the question-and-answer segment below.
If you put money into an IRA or Roth IRA earlier this year for 2013 or plan to do so before the April 15, 2014 contribution deadline, it’s important to double check and make sure you are actually able to do so. Any amount you contribute to an IRA/Roth IRA that isn’t allowed to be there will cost you a 6% penalty if it is not timely removed by October 15, 2014. Worse yet, that 6% penalty is not a one-time penalty. Every year the errant contribution remains in the account, the 6% penalty is assessed.
When you receive an IRA distribution that is payable to yourself (a rollover), you have 60 days after you receive the distribution to complete a tax-free rollover. If you don't complete the rollover within that 60-day period, the IRA distribution is not rollover eligible, which means it’s taxable to you.
In this month's Ruling to Remember, we take a look at Private Letter Ruling 201339002, submitted in late September 2012 as a waiver request to the 60-day IRA rollover requirement.
If you are on furlough thanks to the government shutdown and thinking about taking a distribution from your IRA, here are some things you need to know.
This week's Slott Report Mailbag includes information on opening non-deductible IRAs for the purpose of a backdoor Roth IRA, 401(k) beneficiary issues and if RMDs (required minimum distributions) can be converted to a Roth IRA.
When you switch jobs or retire, you are generally entitled to a full distribution from your company retirement plan funds such as a 401(k). You must be given the option to roll over those funds to an IRA. Certainly, a rollover to an IRA is a great decision most of the time. A direct rollover to an IRA is tax-free and keeps your retirement funds intact and growing on a tax-deferred basis.
