Andy Ives

The Pro-Rata Rule Explained – You are NOT Getting Double Taxed

SCENARIO: Teddy, age 60, has an existing Traditional IRA with a current balance of $93,000. This is all deductible, pre-tax money. Teddy would like to contribute to a Roth IRA, but his income level exceeds the Roth IRA income threshold. To skirt this problem, Teddy makes a 2021 $7,000 non-deductible contribution to his Traditional IRA with the idea to then covert the $7,000 as a Backdoor Roth.

Restorative Payments

As we careen into the holiday season, there remains a deceitful underbelly of dirtbags operating their typical scams. Giant inflatable Christmas decorations in front of your home or a menorah in the window will not dissuade criminals from working a dishonest angle. “Good cheer” is the perfect cover for bad deeds. (See: The Grinch.)

Clarifying Some Roth Conversion Misconceptions

As Roth IRA conversions become more popular, questions and misconceptions abound. In no particular order, here are a dozen Roth IRA conversion facts, issues, and mistakes to avoid: 1. Anyone with an IRA can do a Roth conversion. There are no income limits. You can have $0 earned income and do a Roth conversion. You can make a million dollars and convert.

Persevere, Charlie Brown!

Charlie Brown, wearing a ghost costume full of too many eye holes cut in all the wrong spots, famously peered into his trick-or-treat bag and said, “I got a rock.”

Spouse as IRA Beneficiary

When a married IRA owner dies, the surviving spouse is oftentimes the beneficiary. Of course, there are instances where a trust might be named as IRA beneficiary, or the children or a charity or someone else is listed. Regardless, typically it is the spouse, and how that spouse treats the inherited IRA dollars is important. While at first glance this appears to be a simple decision, there are multiple variables and options to consider.

Earnings are Earnings Within a Traditional IRA

When it comes to taxes and the 10% early distribution penalty, do not allow the underlying investments within a Traditional IRA to confuse what is applicable. Earnings within an IRA are just earnings. It does not matter if those earnings come from appreciation, capital gains, dividends, rents, annuity income, interest, or really any other form of growth. If it happens within the IRA, it is essentially just “earnings.”

Inherited IRAs and 2021 RMDs: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag

Question: Good morning, I have an inherited IRA. I took a manual withdrawal from it in late August. I thought I had deleted my auto withdrawal on the custodian’s website. I just noticed today that another distribution was taken on 9/17. I have done nothing with the money in the core account that it was transferred to. Is there any way for me to reverse this error? Thank you for any assistance.

Checking I.D.’s at the Door – Key Retirement Account Ages and Rules

In most states the legal age for alcohol consumption is 21. And you must actually be 21. When you hand your driver’s license to the bouncer and he shines a little flashlight on your date of birth, it is not good enough to say you will be turning 21 in a couple of months. Unless today is your 21st birthday or later, the bouncer will wave you away, denying access to the premises.

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