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.
This week's Slott Report Mailbag looks into inherited IRAs, RMDs, illegal trades, and PLRs.
In two weeks I had three trusts come across my desk that were named as the beneficiary of the account owner’s IRA. The account owner had now died and the universal question was, “Now what?”
In 2014, the Tax Court in the Bobrow case ruled that the once-per-year rollover rule applies to all of an individual’s IRAs, not to each of their IRA accounts separately. The Court’s surprising ruling conflicted with a long-standing IRS position in earlier editions of IRS Publication 590 and in private letter rulings. Several years have now passed since this ruling, but there is still a lot of confusion out there about the stricter interpretation of the once-per-year rule. Here are 7 things you need to know to know about this rule that has tripped up many taxpayers.
This week's Slott Report Mailbag looks into still working exceptions, RMDs, and IRA transfers.
Congratulations! You’ve made it through yet another tax season. By now, you should have either filed your return or an extension. If you did the former, and actually filed your return, a three-year statute of limitations clock has begun to tick. This three-year period is generally the amount of time that the IRS has to examine your return via an audit, though there are some exceptions (such as when fraud is involved, in which case there is no statute of limitations).
Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) are now a permanent part of the tax code. They allow individuals who are at least 70 ½ years old at the time of the transfer to directly transfer IRA funds to a qualifying charity. The individual gets no charitable deduction for these contributed funds, but, they do not have to include the funds in income. It is as if they completely disappear. It’s even better than investing with Bernie Madoff! But wait, there’s more. The QCD transaction can also satisfy a required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year. QCDs are capped at $100,000 per year, per IRA owner.
This week's Slott Report Mailbag looks into Casualty Theft, IRS rules, Medicare, and Roth conversions.
The 2016 tax-filing deadline is upon us. Are you considering making a 2016 IRA contribution? It’s not too late, but time is quickly running out. Here are some quick words of last minute advice to keep in mind as you make your contribution.
As the father of more than one child, I understand the desire to try and treat children as equally as possible. You certainly don’t want one child to think you love him/her any less, or more, than your other children (though children will inevitably feel that way at one time or another), and you want the best for all of your children. But while children may share the same parents, may grow up in the same house and may be raised in the same manner, they are very much like snowflakes. Each one is truly unique.
For those not set on a predetermined course of action when developing an estate plan, there are definitely scenarios where, from a purely financial perspective, it can pay to treat children differently. In fact, doing so can, in some cases, leave everyone with more than they would have otherwise.
