The Slott Report

One-Rollover-Per-Year Rule and Spouse Beneficiaries

Hopefully, by now everyone has heard that IRA owners can only do one IRA-to-IRA or Roth IRA-to-Roth IRA 60-day rollover in any one-year period. This interpretation of the 60-day rollover rules was part of a 2014 Tax Court decision (Bobrow v. Commissioner, T.C.Memo. 2014-21). What was unclear from this ruling and from subsequent IRS guidance was whether or not the rule applied to a surviving spouse who inherited multiple IRAs from a deceased spouse.

How Your IRA Can Cost You When It Comes to Medicare

You have done the right thing for years. You have diligently saved and accumulated funds in your IRA. At some point, the funds that you have put away for years must come out. Uncle Sam wants his share. When you reach age 70 ½, you must take a required minimum distribution (RMD) for that year and for every year thereafter.

Seven Ways the IRS Knows…

It’s not a good question to be asking, and it’s certainly not the right question to be asking, but one fairly common question asked by both advisors and clients is “How are they going to know?” The “they,” they’re referring to, is the IRS. For those that have ever wondered, here are the answers to seven common “How are they going to know” questions.

3 Reasons a 401(k) Deferral Beats an IRA Contribution

1) There Are No Restrictions Preventing a Tax Break When you defer a portion of your salary into a traditional 401(k), the amount deferred will reduce your taxable income dollar-for-dollar. This is true regardless of how much income you (and your spouse, if applicable) have. In contrast, contributions to a traditional IRA are generally entitled to a tax deduction as well, but if your income is above certain limits and you (and/or your spouse, if applicable) are an active participant in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, then that deduction can be reduced or eliminated. Thus, in some scenarios, a contribution to a traditional IRA won’t help you reduce your current tax bill.

What the Trump Tax Plan Means for Your Retirement

On April 26, 2017, the Trump administration released its highly anticipated tax reform plan. The administration said the goals of the plan include growing the economy, creating jobs and simplifying the tax code. The changes proposed are significant and if passed (and that is a big “if”) could have a major impact on your retirement planning.