Time Running Out for 2009 RMD Relief
November 26, 2009
People who received unwanted RMDs in 2009 have just a few days left to roll those RMDs back into their IRAs, thus eliminating the tax bill from the original distribution.
RMDs Suspended
The Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA) suspended required minimum distributions (RMDs) for 2009. If you’re not familiar with RMDs, these are distributions that you are required to take from your traditional IRA and employer sponsored plans (401Ks) beginning at age 70 ½.
This is a one-time suspension of RMDs, effective for 2009 only. This suspension was created in response to the sharp declines in the stock market, with the purpose of allowing individuals to keep the funds invested in their IRAs instead of being forced to take distributions when the market, and thus their account values, were significantly down.
Seniors Get a Tax Break in 2009 – Congress Suspends RMD
December 12, 2008
I know many people were hoping this would pass for 2008 rather than 2009, but I guess late is better than not at all.
Congress approved legislation this week that will provide some relief to Americans over 70 1/2 who have suffered significant losses in their IRA accounts. The bill will temporarily suspend the excise tax that is levied when seniors fail to the the required minimum distribution (RMD) from their retirement accounts.
This penalty is waived for 2009, which means that seniors will not be required to take withdrawals from their tax deferred retirement accounts during 2009, which will hopefully give these accounts time to recover before the 2010 required distribution. Unfortunately, this law does not apply to 2008 when it would have made the most difference to investors who have lost significant amounts in their accounts.
Donating Your RMD To Charity – Law Extended for 2008 & 2009
December 1, 2008
Update: The Tax Relief Act of 2010 extends the ability to donate your RMD to charity for both 2010 and 2011. For more information, please read “Yes You CAN Donate Your 2010 RMD to Charity”.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 allows IRA owners age 70 1/2 or older to make direct transfers of up to $100,000 per year from their IRA to a charity. The provision became available for IRA distributions taken after Aug. 17, 2006 and originally only applied through the end of 2007. Note: the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 extends this law to include 2008 and 2009.
Distributions can be made from taxable funds in an IRA or Roth IRA, but not from employer plans or SEP and SIMPLE IRAs. The distribution will not be taxable to you, but you don’t get to deduct the charitable contribution on your tax return. This is more advantageous to taxpayers because even though you get a charitable deduction if you take the IRA withdrawal and report that amount in income, many taxpayers do not itemize, and therefore they don’t always get to take advantage of the deduction.
The direct transfer from the IRA to the charity can also satisfy a person’s required minimum distribution for the year. If you are charitably inclined, it may be best to contribute from the IRA, at least up to the RMD amount thereby avoiding that amount being included in income. This will lower your adjusted gross income (AGI) and might avoid or lessen the amount of Social Security benefits that are taxed.
The reduction in AGI can also increase tax deductions, exemptions or credits that are pegged to AGI either in terms of specified amounts or as a percentage of AGI. The distributions are deemed to come from income first if the IRA has non-deductible contributions. This contrasts with the normal pro-rata rule that applies to other IRA distributions where there are after-tax funds in the IRA.