ROTH Conversions
Based on the recent passage of the SECURE Act, financial professionals have no choice but to consider the implications about how its going to affect individuals saving for retirement. There is a piece of this legislation that could be a big tax issue for heirs. Instead of lifelong distribution s, those distributions have to be done within ten years. Originally, one could minimize the tax consequences because they have an entire lifetime to bring down the IRA balance. Thus, the distributions do not have to be as big. Now that an heir has only 10 years, larger distributions are required by individuals annually.
However, a ROTH IRA Conversion could limit the financial impact of such a move. This conversion allows you to take a traditional IRA and convert it to a Roth IRA. A Roth IRA requires no minimum financial distribution by its owner during the lifetime. Additionally, individuals will get to make their retirements in withdrawals.
It is important for individuals that are choosing to convert from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA to know the basic rules. First of all, one must obtain a separate ROTH IRA account. This can be done by opening a new ROTH IRA or transferring money into a new Roth account.
One is required to pay taxes to the federal government on the money that they are converting from one's IRA contributions. Additionally, one is required to wait five years between the time that their first contribution to their Roth IRA is made before taking a distribution on their earnings. If this is not followed, one can face serious tax penalties.
It is very important that a Roth IRA conversion is done before one passes away. One will not be able to do a Roth IRA conversion with an inherited IRA.
In order to avoid a heavy tax bill on the first year of conversion, one has to make sure that all taxes on funds from the traditional IRA have been paid for. A traditional IRA involves pre-tax funds while a Roth IRA involves after-tax dollars. If there are any untaxed funds from the traditional IRA that are converted, an individual will have to pay taxes on those funds after the conversion.