sarah brenner

Stretch IRA Lives on For Some Beneficiaries

Last year the SECURE Act became law and eliminated the stretch IRA for millions of IRA beneficiaries. However, for some IRA beneficiaries the stretch lives on. For most beneficiaries, the stretch is now replaced with a ten-year payout period. Beginning for deaths in 2020, the ten-year rule will apply to designated beneficiaries who are not eligible designated beneficiaries under the SECURE Act. Eligible designated beneficiaries include spouses, minor children of the IRA owner, chronically ill and disabled individuals and beneficiaries who are not more than ten years younger than the IRA owner.

Rollovers and Inherited IRAs: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag

Question 1: I have a very simple ROTH IRA question. I borrowed money from my ROTH IRA with the intention of paying it all back in 60 days. To avoid any penalty, must I make one repayment of all the money I borrowed? Or, can my repayment be made in two parts, all within the sixty days? Question 2: Am I allowed to convert my inherited Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA?

Recharacterization of IRA Contributions is Still Here

It happens. You have made a 2019 contribution to the wrong type of IRA. All is not lost. That contribution can be recharacterized. While recharacterization of Roth IRA conversions was eliminated by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, recharacterization of IRA contributions is still available and can be helpful in many situations. Maybe you contributed to a traditional IRA and later discovered the contribution was not deductible. Or maybe you contributed to a Roth IRA, not knowing that your income was above the limits for eligibility.

The IRA Contribution Deadline is Almost Here

The countdown to the much delayed 2019 tax filing deadline is on. The deadline is July 15, 2020, which is only a couple of days away. Time is running out. Is your IRA ready? Making Your 2019 IRA Contribution Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2019 tax-filing deadline has been extended until July 15, 2020. This means that July 15, 2020 is also the deadline for making a 2019 IRA contribution. This is true even if you have an extension to file your tax return. An extension does NOT give you extra time to make a traditional or Roth IRA contribution. So, if you are thinking about making a 2019 contribution, the clock is ticking.

Opening an IRA Account and IRA Rollovers: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag

Question: Hello, I am aware of the IRA one-rollover-per-year rule. What I can’t find is if a married couple that files jointly violates the rule if they each do a rollover from their own individual IRAs? For example: One person has an IRA in their name and takes a distribution and rolls it over within the 60-day limit avoiding the taxable distribution. Now, can the other spouse also take a distribution from their own IRA and do the same without incurring a taxable distribution? Thanks so much. Maggie

Exceptions to the 10% Early Distribution Penalty for IRAs

IRAs are supposed to be for saving for retirement but in challenging economic times like these many individuals may be forced to take distributions before retirement age. Be careful! If you tap your IRA before reaching age 59 ½, the bad news is that you run the risk of being hit with the 10% early distribution penalty. The good news is that there are some exceptions to this penalty. You IRA distribution will still most likely be fully taxable, but you can spare yourself the additional 10% penalty if one of these exceptions apply to you.

IRS Expands Eligibility for Coronavirus-Related Distributions

On June 19, the IRS released additional guidance on coronavirus-related distributions (CRDs) from retirement accounts. The new guidance will make many more individuals eligible for these tax-advantaged distributions allowed under the CARES Act. What Is a CRD? If you qualify as an “affected individual”, you can take up to $100,000 of distributions from your IRAs and employer plans in 2020. There is no 10% early distribution penalty if you are under age 59 ½, and you have an option to spread the federal tax on CRDs evenly over a three-year period beginning with the year 2020. You also have a three-year period to repay CRDs to an IRA or employer plan. Taxes can be refunded on the amounts repaid. Repayment does not have to be made to the same IRA or company plan from which the CRD was originally paid.

60-Day Rollovers: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag

Question: Thank you for all the great resources you provide. I have been looking for an answer to my specific situation and have not been able to find a clear answer to what I think is a pretty straight forward situation/fact pattern. I take my RMDs spread over a monthly basis on the 6th of each month. (I have taken four in 2020 - Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr). Under the new legislation that extends the "60-day rollover window" for distributions taken on or after February 1, 2020 to July 15, 2020, am I able to roll back all three distributions (Feb, Mar and Apr) in one contribution (rollover) into my IRA, or am I limited to only being able to roll back one month's worth of distributions? Thanks for your help and all you do. Dale

SECURE Act’s 10-Year Rule Brings New Planning Opportunities

By now, most IRA owners have heard the bad news. The SECURE Act eliminates the stretch IRA for the majority of beneficiaries who inherit in 2020 or later. Instead, for most, a 10-year payout rule will apply. Here is how this new rule works and how, for some beneficiaries, there may be new planning opportunities available. How It Works This new 10-year rule works like the old 5-year rule worked. There are no annual RMDs. Instead, the entire account must be emptied by the 10th year after the year of death. In the 10th year following the year of death, any funds remaining in the inherited IRA would then become the required minimum distribution (RMD).

Roth IRA Rollovers and Contributions: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag

Question: I set up a Roth outside my employee retirement plan. I retired on 10-01-2018. I set up an automatic contribution to my Roth IRA from my checking account and, up to this day, still continue to contribute to the Roth IRA . Shall I opt out since I’m retired now? Your advice is deeply appreciated. Thank you very much. Sincerely, Ester Answer: Hi Ester, Contributing to a Roth IRA in addition to your employer plan is a great way to increase your retirement savings.

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