Explanation of how Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) works for a 401(k) or other workplace retirement account.
net unrealized appreciation
IRS Notice 2014-54: Will This Clarify NUA Basis Allocation?
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 […]
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Net Unrealized Appreciation is not subject to the 3.8% surtax
When you take advantage of the Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) treatment for stocks transferred from your employer retirement plan, you need to fully understand the tax treatment both when you transfer the stocks and when you eventually sell the stock. Stock that you’ve chosen to treat with NUA tax treatment has three potential tax components – The basis of the stock – this is the original purchase cost of the stock, which is subject to ordinary income tax the year when you transfer the stock from the employer’s plan into your brokerage account. The Net Unrealized Appreciation – this is the difference in the total value of the stock minus the basis (from #1 above) on the date that you transfer it from your employer’s plan. This amount is not taxable until you sell the stock, and then it is taxed at long-term capital gains rates, no matter how long […]
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NUA Allocation Twist – Not as Easy as it Looks
I’ve written much about the Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) treatment for company stock in a 401(k) plan – this is the provision that allows you to pull out company stock as part of a full distribution from the plan and get favorable tax treatment for the gain on the stock. More about NUA can be found in this article about Net Unrealized Appreciation Treatment. One of the factors in that article speaks to a special way to allocate the basis (original cost) of the stock. Specifically, if handled correctly, the ordinary income tax on the NUA move can be minimized or eliminated, and the capital gains treatment maximized. However. (As you know, there’s always a however in life!) The problem with this move is that you absolutely must get the 401(k) administrator to go along with your plan – in order to make sure that the 1099R generated by your […]
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What Is Net Unrealized Appreciation?
We’ve discussed how to utilize the Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) treatment of distributions from your qualified retirement plan (also known as QRP, meaning 401(k), 403(b), and other plans) – one of the earlier articles on Net Unrealized Appreciation can be found at this link. Even though the process is explained in the earlier article, we didn’t discuss just what exactly can be treated with the NUA option. How do you determine what part of the distribution can be treated with capital gains treatment? In order to determine what is to be treated as unrealized appreciation, we need to define what has to be treated as ordinary income from such a distribution. Briefly, the way that the NUA option works is that you take a complete distribution of your QRP account within one tax year – and you have the option to treat a portion of your account distribution with capital […]
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