Why You Should Take Your 2025 RMD Now

There are good reasons why you should take your RMD now instead of waiting. By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Ed Slott and Company The deadline for most retirement account owners to take their 2025 required minimum distribution (RMD) is December 31, 2025. However, there are good reasons why you should take your RMD now instead of waiting. You are doing a rollover. Maybe you are retiring this year, and you are now moving your employer plan funds to an IRA, or maybe you are tapping [...]

By |April 4, 2025|Categories: IRA Best Practices|Tags: , , |

How Roth IRA Distributions Are Taxed

Roth IRAs are a beneficial asset for many retirees. But how are they taxed? By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Do you have a Roth IRA? If you do, there will very likely come a time when you want to take a distribution from that account. The distribution rules for taxation of Roth IRA distributions can be complicated, but if they are followed, the reward is tax-free withdrawals in retirement. Here is what you need to know: Aggregation Things can get a little confusing if you [...]

By |March 10, 2025|Categories: Articles, IRA Best Practices|Tags: , |

How Are RMDs Calculated in the 10-Year Period

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst In the July 22, 2024 Slott Report, my colleague Sarah Brenner explained how the IRS, in its final SECURE Act required minimum distribution (RMD) regulations issued on July 18, did not budge on a controversial position it had taken in its 2022 proposed regulations. The issue is whether a retirement account beneficiary subject to the 10-year payout rule who inherits from an IRA owner after the owner had started RMDs must continue annual RMDs during the 10-year period. The IRS said yes. Sarah [...]

By |July 24, 2024|Categories: IRA Best Practices|Tags: , , |

IRS Issues Final SECURE Act Regulations: Controversial Annual RMD Requirement During 10-Year Rule Stands

The IRS has flip-flopped! In the SECURE Act, Congress eliminated the “Stretch IRA” for most inherited IRAs beginning in 2020. A new “10-year rule” was put in place and experts believed the IRA balance had to be withdrawn by the end of the 10-year period with no annual distribution requirements. In May 2021, the IRS confirmed that annual RMDs were not required. The IRS released the long-awaited SECURE Act annual RMD requirement and flip-flopped. Please read the article below. By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education [...]

By |July 22, 2024|Categories: IRA Best Practices|Tags: , , |

Happy Holidays! Congress Gifts SECURE 2.0

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education This holiday season Congress has given us SECURE 2.0. With no time to spare to avoid a government shutdown, they passed the $1.7 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 and sent it off the President for signature. Tucked inside the more than 4000 pages of legislation, you can find SECURE 2.0. While this “Son of SECURE” is not exactly the game changer for IRAs that its “Dad” (the original SECURE Act) was, there are still many changes that will affect IRA [...]

By |December 28, 2022|Categories: Articles, IRA Best Practices|Tags: , , |

Tax-Savvy Charitable Giving With QCDs Can Benefit Both Giver and Receiver

A qualified charitable distribution, or QCD, might be the answer for you – but watch those rules. Plenty of retirees like to give back to their communities through charitable donations, but questions often arise over the best way to do that. What approach is efficient, provides the tax benefits you’re after, and also is advantageous for the charity that’s on the receiving end? One possibility is a qualified charitable distribution (QCD), a tax-savvy way to reduce your taxable income and maximize your donations, whether you itemize deductions on your [...]

By |October 12, 2022|Categories: Articles, Smart Investing|Tags: , , , |

Navigating Qualified Charitable Distributions in 5 Easy Steps

What is a qualified charitable distribution (QCD)? A QCD is a distribution from an IRA that goes directly to a qualifying charity and is not included in the taxable income of the IRA owner. A QCD cannot be made from an employer plan. A QCD can be up to $100,000 a year, per individual. 1. Either an IRA owner or a beneficiary can do a QCD. The individual must be at least age 70½ at the time of the transaction. Reaching age [...]

By |August 31, 2022|Categories: Articles, IRA Best Practices|Tags: , , |

Last-Minute IRA Tax Deadlines and Rules

April 18 is Tax Day for 2022. It is delayed from the 15th because the IRS offices were closed Friday. Generally speaking, each taxpayer’s bill to the U.S. Treasury is settled at this point, but there are exceptions. Read this Slott Report for insights. Going forward, now is the time to be planning for 2023 and future years. Becoming Tax Saavy throughout your retirement years requires years of advance planning and is an ongoing process. Tax laws will remain dynamic and will never be static. By Andy [...]

By |April 18, 2022|Categories: Articles, IRA Best Practices|Tags: , |

SECURE Act Rules Impact Owners of Inherited IRAs

Owners of inherited IRAs may be in for a jolt. In a surprise announcement, annual required minimum distributions (RMDs) will be required for those who recently inherited individual retirement accounts (IRAs). In the SECURE Act, Congress eliminated the “Stretch IRA” for most inherited IRAs beginning in 2020 and put in place a “10-year rule.” It was expected that the IRA balance would be required to be withdrawn by the end of that 10-year period with no annual distribution requirements. In May 2021, the IRS confirmed that annual RMDs were [...]

By |March 18, 2022|Categories: Articles, News|Tags: , , |

The Most Controversial Part of the New IRS Regulations

The IRS has flip-flopped! In the SECURE Act, Congress eliminated the “Stretch IRA” for most inherited IRAs beginning in 2020. A new “10-year rule” was put in place and experts believed the IRA balance had to be withdrawn by the end of the 10-year period with no annual distribution requirements. In May 2021, the IRS confirmed that annual RMDs were not required. Two weeks ago, the IRS released the long-awaited SECURE Act RMD proposed regulations and flip-flopped. If annual RMDs are required, some taxpayers could already be in trouble. [...]

By |March 7, 2022|Categories: Articles, IRA Best Practices|Tags: , , , |
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