Getting Your Financial Ducks In A Row Rotating Header Image

IRA

IRA Cross Loans – Don’t Even Think About It

Don’t attempt to go around the prohibited transaction rules by using cross loans with your IRA. It won’t turn out well.

IRA Charitable Distributions – If You’re Less Than Age 70½

Can you make IRA charitable distributions before age 70½? What are the tax consequences for doing this? How does it all work?

Prohibited Transactions and Disqualified Persons

There’s a fine line when transacting business with individuals using your IRA. You need to make sure they’re not prohibited transactions.

Wash Sale Rules and IRAs

Do you know how the wash sale rule applies to IRAs? You need to be careful about what you’re doing when harvesting tax losses.

Wash Sale Rules

If you sell an investment at a loss, you need to be careful about how you re-invest the money so that you can avoid the wash sale rules.

Are You Really Diversified?

You may not be as diversified as you think. Learn more about correlation among various asset classes and how you can use this to your benefit

Social Security vs. Saving

Examining Social Security versus saving – a hypothetical exercise, answering if we’re better off with Social Security or saving the money.

Running Afoul of the One-Rollover-Per-Year Rule (and How to Fix It)

In case you’re not aware of it, there is a strict rule that the IRS applies with regard to IRA rollovers: you are allowed to roll funds over from an IRA using the 60-day rule only once during each 12-month period. FYI: Trustee-to-trustee transfers are not considered rollovers for this rule. Here’s an example of what could happen: Early in the year, you withdraw some money from your IRA to help you catch up on some bills. Then, you receive a bonus within the 60-day period after your withdrawal, so you deposit those funds back into the same (or any other) IRA. Later in the year, you want to take another short-term distribution from your IRA, and once again circumstances present the opportunity to put the funds back into the first IRA… but now you’re stuck. You can’t roll the distribution back into the original IRA (or any IRA), since […]

3 Ways of Dealing Without Recharacterization

Recharacterization of a Roth conversion has been gone for quite a while now. Risk reduction is more complicated now, but still possible.

Combining IRAs with Other Retirement Plans

Do you know the rules for combining various retirement plans with one another? It’s important to know these so you don’t do it wrong.

How to Bypass Mandatory Withholding on a 401(k) Distribution

When you take a distribution from your 401(k), 20% is withheld automatically. How can you bypass this withholding?

No, You Can’t Contribute Stocks to Your IRA

Ever wonder if you could just contribute stock to your IRA? Follow along for the answer to this interesting question.

Avoiding Taxation of 401(k) Loan

What should you do if you have a 401k loan and you leave the employer? You actually have some good options available to you.

Valuation for Roth IRA Conversions

How does valuation work for Roth IRA conversions? When are the assets valued to determine what is taxable and what is tax-free?

Using Capital Gains and Losses to Help With a Roth Conversion

Using capital gains and losses to help offset your cost when doing a Roth conversion. This income offset can really help keep the cost down.

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

It’s possible to accidentally pay double tax on your inherited IRA, unless you know how the IRD deduction works. This article outlines how it works – which may be important to you in the future when estate tax exemptions are reduced.

Should You Take or Postpone Your First RMD?

The first year of RMD presents a planning opportunity. What should you think about as you consider the timing of this withdrawal?

Roth Conversion Timing Where After-Tax Contributions Are Involved

The timing of your Roth conversion can make a huge difference, especially if you have after-tax contributions in your IRAs.