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More the exception than the rule
Recently, the Tax Court ruled that a taxpayer's continuing business activities and lack of credible evidence failed to qualify him as disabled under the tax code
IRAs and special-needs trusts
In a recent private-letter ruling (PLR 201116005), the Internal Revenue Service allowed a disabled beneficiary to transfer his share of two inherited individual retirement accounts to a special-needs trust of which he was the beneficiary
Roth re-characterization confusion
Recent market volatility exposed a basic misunderstanding by financial advisers and even certified public accountants of the mechanics of undoing Roth conversions, a process called a Roth re-characterization
Broken window: Rollover horror stories
When clients withdraw money from an individual retirement account or employer retirement plan and want to move those funds to another retirement account, they must roll over those funds within 60 days of the date that they received the distribution from the plan or IRA
Five considerations for Roth redos
Just as 2010 may have been the year of the Roth conversion, 2011 may be the year of…
401(k) rights trumped by ERISA
In a recent case (Cajun Industries LLC v. Robert Kidder, et al.), the court ruled that despite having previously named his three children as beneficiaries of his 401(k) plan, a deceased plan participant's 401(k) balance will pass to his new wife
Defining the ‘professional’ trader
The Tax Court recently ruled that a taxpayer who made just three trades in 2005 didn’t qualify as…
Reporting Roth IRA conversions
Get ready for an avalanche of Form 8606 questions
Your 2011 Roth IRA questions answered
Last year, many financial advisers worked with clients to implement Roth conversions
A valuable late-year IRA extension
The Tax Relief Act of 2010 includes an extension of the qualified-charitable-distribution provision retroactive from Jan. 1, 2010, through Dec. 31, 2011
A year-end checklist for IRAs
In the rush of year-end activity, it's important not to forget your IRA-related to-do list. The following are some of the most overlooked year-end items.
Law creates more options for Roth rollovers
The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 includes a provision that allows certain 401(k) and 403(b) participants to convert their plan funds to a Roth 401(k) or Roth 403(b) within the plan
Dangers in using IRAs for business startups
When the Internal Revenue Service names a transaction “Robs,” that can't be good.
ERISA regulation trumps prenuptial agreement
If you have clients with sizable pension plans who are getting married for the first, second or third time — or more — the question of who gets the pension plan after death must be agreed upon now, and the agreement must hold up when the time comes to pay beneficiaries.
Avoiding Roth recharacterization traps
The Roth recharacterization provides one of the few second chances in the tax code. In essence, it's a do-over.
Ed Slott: Turn lemons into Roth conversion cash
If your client wants to convert his or her individual retirement account to a Roth IRA this year but doesn't have cash from non-IRA sources to pay the tax on the conversion, consider looking at his or her capital assets.
Avoiding a big Roth conversion mistake
There is a downside to a Roth IRA conversion. Whether clients pay tax for 2010 or spread the tax burden between 2011 and 2012, they'll still owe income tax on the pretax money they move from a traditional individual retirement account or company plan to a Roth IRA.
Having the conversion conversation
Although the Roth conversion isn't for everyone, financial advisers must have the conversion conversation with every client who qualifies.
Roth conversions can ease new tax
The revenue-raising provision of the new health care law most likely to affect your clients is a 3.8% levy on investment income.
What can’t be converted to a Roth
Unfortunately, many individuals are getting confused.
