Year-End IRA Housekeeping
The end of the year is fast approaching, and with it several important deadlines for IRA account owners and beneficiaries. In my experience helping clients address year-end IRA matters, the following are the most problematic areas:
Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Deadline:
December 31 is the deadline for taking RMDs from an IRA for an account owner who reached age 70½ before 2018. The RMD has to be withdrawn from the account before January 1. The account owner cannot merely request a distribution before year end. RMDs not withdrawn from the account are assessed a 50% penalty, in addition to regular income taxes. If you haven’t taken all of your RMDs yet for 2018, make sure you take them in time to avoid the 50% penalty.
RMDs for a Deceased IRA Owner:
If an IRA owner died in 2018 before all of his RMDs were taken for the year, the remaining RMDs must be paid to the account beneficiary before the end of 2018. This is not a pro-rated amount. The RMDs are calculated for the full year. This can often times be overlooked especially if the IRA owner died late in the calendar year. Undistributed RMDs from a decedent’s IRA are subject to the 50% penalty on missed distributions.
RMDs for Inherited Traditional IRAs or Roth IRAs:
A non-spouse beneficiary of an inherited IRA can elect to take annual RMDs over their remaining life expectancy. If they do, the first RMD distribution must be taken before December 31 of the year following the year of the IRA owner’s death, and then each year thereafter over their remaining life expectancy. If you are the beneficiary of an inherited IRA, you too must take an RMD before the end of 2018 if the account owner died in 2017 or earlier. Undistributed RMDs from an inherited IRA are also subject to the 50% penalty on missed distributions. This applies to the beneficiaries of Roth IRA accounts too. While a Roth IRA owner does not have to take distributions from a Roth IRA at any time, beneficiaries are subject to the same RMD rules as beneficiaries of traditional IRAs. So don’t get caught thinking you don’t have to take distributions from an inherited Roth IRA. You do!
Splitting Inherited Traditional IRAs or Roth IRAs:
If there are multiple beneficiaries of a traditional or Roth IRA account whose owner died in 2017, the account must be split into separate accounts for each beneficiary before December 31 of 2018. This is to ensure that each beneficiary gets to use his own life expectancy in determining annual RMDs for his share of the account. If the account is not split and the RMD taken before the end of 2018, the life expectancy of the oldest beneficiary will be used to calculate the annual RMDs for all of the beneficiaries. This results in younger beneficiaries paying more income taxes each year on their distribution from the account.
No “Still Working” Exception for Older and Still Working IRA Owners:
There is no “still working” exception to the RMD rules for traditional IRA owners who are still employed beyond age 70½. While an owner of a 401(k) account may work beyond age 70½ and delay RMDs from his 401(k) account while his employment continues, that same employee must take RMDs from his traditional IRA if he reached age 70½ before 2018. This includes owners of SEP-IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs.
While not exhaustive, these are the most common areas where mistakes are made. Even if you’ve taken your RMDs for 2018, it won’t hurt to go back and review your situation and your math to avoid any negative consequences from unrealized errors.
The rules governing required distributions from IRAs are extremely complex. The penalties for making a mistake can be severe. If you need help navigating the year-end complexities of managing IRA distributions, please contact me. I can help.
