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Recently the IRS issued a Notice, 2014-54, which details some information regarding the allocation of pre-tax funds from a qualified plan (such as a 401(k) plan) into a Roth IRA. This is a clarification of a question that has been on the minds of folks in the financial services industry for some time, and it’s a good result. Now the question becomes: does this help to clarify NUA basis allocation strategies?
If you’d like additional detail on Notice 2014-54, you can find the actual text of the Notice by clicking this link.
What I find interesting about this Notice is that this is the first time that the IRS has used this interpretation of the rules referenced specifically in IRC Section 402(c)(2), which is the code section I’ve referenced before regarding allocation of basis for Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) treatment for employer stock. (See more information in this most recent article NUA Allocation Twist – Not as Easy as it Looks.) The problem (outlined in the article) has been that plan administrators are unwilling to attempt applying the allocation of basis in an NUA transaction because there has never been any guidance from the IRS on such an allocation of basis. Notice 2014-54 may be the first step toward such guidance.
I’ve sent queries to the best minds I know in the retirement plan law universe to get additional insights into this concept – and as yet have not received a confirmation either way. I think this is a step in the right direction, but don’t get too excited yet.
I’ll keep you posted.