With many Americans living much longer due to advances in medicine, some seniors have asked whether Medicaid can take their IRA to pay for nursing home care, should they require it at some point. The answer to that question is complicated and should be addressed by an elder-care planner. Some general information follows.
For Valentine’s Day many of us gave or received tokens of love such as flowers, candy, jewelry, or a nice dinner in a restaurant. But now Valentine’s Day is over (much to Hallmark's chagrin). That makes this a good time to think about our beneficiaries. How much do we love them? Do you love your beneficiaries enough to take the time to check up on your beneficiary forms for your retirement accounts? You really should consider doing this because there are plenty of "un-loving" consequences if you don't.
This week's Slott Report Mailbag includes questions about where to put your IRA money, RMD requirements, and excess IRA contributions. Click to read a Q&A with our IRA Technical Expert.
President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address to the American people last night. With that in mind, we want to take a look at some of the questions that arise when the State of your Union changes. What changes are there to your IRA when you get married? What would happen to your IRA if you got divorced? We explore these questions and more in a short Q-and-A below.
Even though Hurricane Sandy occurred in late October 2012, its effects are still being felt. The IRS issued several news releases describing the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for victims affected by Hurricane Sandy. These postponements also apply to IRA and other retirement plan deadlines. The relief applies to many counties in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.
The IRS updated Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) For use in preparing 2012 Returns. This publication is a good source of basic information about Traditional and Roth IRAs, simplified employee pension (SEP) plans, and savings incentive match plans for employees of small employers (SIMPLE) IRA plans. Pub 590 contains a section called “What’s New for 2012.” See some of the notable changes below.
This week's Slott Report Mailbag talks about how (if at all) the new tax law affected Roth conversion planning, as well as a look at Roth IRA rollover rules and the ways you can withdrawal 401(k) money early without penalty (can you do that?).
Whether you won or lost on Super Bowl Sunday, your gambling wager has tax and IRA planning consequences. Super Bowl XLVII was held in New Orleans this past Sunday. After San Francisco played a “lights out” second half after the lights went out, the Baltimore Ravens held on to win the game 34–31. Although Baltimore won the game and got to raise the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy, it wasn't the only winner this past weekend. In fact, millions of Americans became winners themselves as a result of legal and illegal gambling.
As we gather our information to prepare our federal income tax return for 2012, don't forget about that Roth IRA conversion you did all of the way back in 2010. A conversion you did from a company plan or IRA to a Roth IRA in 2010 will likely need to be reported on your 2010 tax return.
If you took a withdrawal from any IRA or employer plan last year, you will get a copy of IRS Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc. very soon. The IRA custodian or employer plan was required to send you a copy of Form 1099-R by January 31, 2013 for any 2012 retirement plan distributions you took.
