Updated IRS Publications Now Available
By Beverly DeVeny, IRA Technical Expert
Follow Me on Twitter: @BevIRAEdSlott
IRS has updated several retirement-related publications. They are now available on the IRS website, www.irs.gov under Forms and Pubs. They will all say that they are updated for 2014 so you can use them in preparing your 2014 federal income tax return. However, they also will have the current contribution limits and other necessary information for this year.
Publication 560, Retirement Plans for Small Business (SEP, SIMPLE, and Qualified Plans), gives an overview of the rules for SEPs, SIMPLEs, and qualified retirement plans such as 401(k) plans. It is a good starting point for learning about those types of plans.
Publication 571, Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans (403(b) Plans), has basic information for participants in 403(b) plans, which may be offered to public school employees and employees of tax-exempt organizations.
Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income, has information on pension and annuity distributions and their taxation. It includes information on in-plan Roth rollovers and the 3.8% net investment income tax.
Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), is the first half of the old Publication 590, which has been split this year. Publication 590-A has an overview of the IRA and Roth IRA contribution rules as well as the rollover and conversion rules. The biggest change in the rules for 2015 is covered in this publication.
“Application of one-rollover-per-year limitation. Beginning in 2015, you can make only one rollover from an IRA to another (or the same) IRA in any 1-year period regardless of the number of IRAs you own. However, you can continue to make unlimited trustee-to-trustee transfers between IRAs because it is not considered a rollover. Furthermore, you can also make as many rollovers from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA as you want (also known as “conversions”). For more information, see Can You Move Retirement Plan Assets in chapter 1.”
Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), is the second half of the old Publication 590. It covers distributions from IRAs and Roth IRAs including required minimum distributions and distributions to beneficiaries.
These are great resources to use for basic information. They are not all inclusive and do not discuss many of the exceptions to the basic rules. For help with a specific situation, always consult with a professional who has expertise in this area. You can find a list of Ed Slott trained advisors on our website (www.IRAhelp.com).
Also, for more IRA resources, make sure to visit www.irahelp.com/iraResources