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Want to Reduce Required Minimum Distributions and Extend Your Retirement Benefits?
Continue ReadingDo you find that your required minimum distributions (RMDs) from qualified plans and IRAs are providing unneeded income and a high tax bill? Or, are you afraid that the government’s RMD requirements will leave too little in your retirement plan for your later years? If you answered yes to either of these, good news! You can now use a qualified longevity annuity contract (QLAC) to reduce your RMDs and extend the life of your retirement distributions.
The government allows individuals to purchase QLACs with their retirement funds, thus reducing the value of those funds (subject to the RMD rules) and in turn reducing the funds’ annual RMDs.
A QLAC is a deferred-income annuity that begins at an advanced age and that meets the stringent limitations included in the tax regulations. One benefit of a retirement-planning strategy involving QLACs is that they provide a form of longevity insurance, allowing taxpayers to use part of their retirement savings to buy an annuity that helps protect them from outliving their assets.
The tax-planning benefits of QLACs are twofold:
- Because the QLAC is purchased using funds from a qualified retirement plan or IRA, that plan’s year-end balance (value) is lowered. This causes the RMDs for future years to be less than they otherwise would be, as the RMD is determined by dividing the account balance (from 12/31 of the prior year) by an annuity factor that is based on the retiree’s age.
Example: Jack is age 74, and the annuity table lists his remaining distribution period as 23.8 years. The balance of his IRA account on 12/31/2016 is $400,000. Thus, his RMD for 2017 would be $16,807 ($400,000 / 23.8). However, if Jack had purchased a $100,000 QLAC with his IRA funds during 2016, his balance would have been $300,000, and his 2017 RMD would be $12,605 ($300,000 / 23.8). By purchasing the $100,000 QLAC, Jack would have reduced his RMD for 2016 by $4,202 ($16,807 – $12,605). This reduction would continue for all future years. Later, the $100,000 QLAC would provide retirement benefits, likely beginning when Jack reaches age 85.
(2) Tax on the annuity will be deferred until payments commence under the annuity contract.
A deferred-income annuity must meet a number of requirements to be treated as a QLAC, including the following:
Limitation on premiums – When buying a QLAC, a taxpayer can use up to the lesser of $125,000 or 25% of his or her total non-Roth IRA balances. The dollar limitation applies to the sum of the premiums paid on all QLAC contracts.
When distributions must commence – Distributions under a QLAC must commence by a specified annuity starting date, which is no later than the first day of the month after the taxpayer’s 85th birthday.
For additional details about how QLACs might fit into your retirement strategy, please give Dagley & Co. a call.
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Who Controls the Funds in a Section 529 Plan?
Continue ReadingThe question of “who controls the funds held in a Section 529 qualified tuition account?” is a very common question we hear. To answer this question please read the following:
Some parents will simply save money for their child or children’s college costs in a custodial account; these accounts become the children’s property once they reach the age of majority, depending upon state law, which is usually 18 or 21. At that point, the parents lose control. Unlike these child custodial accounts, Section 529 plans are not irrevocable gifts: The parent or other account owner retains control.
Generally, the same person who contributed the money controls the Section 529 account. This doesn’t have to be the case, however. Someone else, such as a grandparent, could make a donation but name the child’s parent as the account owner, or a parent could establish the account and allow others to contribute to it.
Money cannot be removed from the account without the permission of the account owner. If the child (the designated beneficiary of the plan) decides not to go to school, the account owner can simply change the beneficiary to another “family member,” a term that, for the purposes of beneficiary changes, can refer to the beneficiary’s sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces, certain in-laws, and any spouse of any of those individuals—but not the spouse of the original beneficiary.
This rule for beneficiary changes gives parents and other donors the flexibility to use the funds for the family member who needs them the most. For example, if a designated beneficiary decides not to attend college or receives a full scholarship, another child can be named (as long as the new child is a member of the family). Alternately, if funds remain in the plan after a child has finished school, a younger family member can be named as the beneficiary for the balance.
There are no tax issues if the transfer is within the same generation or an older generation of the family, such as changing the beneficiary to a sibling of the original beneficiary. However, if the transfer is to a beneficiary in a younger generation, the transfer is considered a taxable gift from the old beneficiary to the new beneficiary, and a gift tax return will need to be filed.
If you have questions related to Section 529 plans and how they might be used to save for a child’s future education, please call Dagley & Co.
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Having a Low Taxable Income Year? Ways to Take Advantage of It
Continue ReadingAre you having a low taxable income year? Are you unemployed, had an accident that’s kept you from earning income, incurring a net operating loss (NOL) from a business, or suffering a casualty loss? These incidents will result in abnormally low taxable income for the year. But, these can actually give rise to some interesting tax planning strategies. See below for some key elements that govern tax rates and taxable income, and some actual strategies by Dagley & Co.
Taxable Income – First, of all, to be simplistic, taxable income is your adjusted gross income (AGI) less the sum of your personal exemptions and the greater of the standard deduction for your filing status or your itemized deductions:
AGI XXXX
Exemptions <XXXX>
Deductions <XXXX>
Taxable Income XXXX
If the exemptions and deductions exceed the AGI, you can end up with a negative taxable income, which means to the extent it is negative you can actually add income or reduce deductions without incurring any tax.
Graduated Individual Tax Rates – Ordinary individual tax rates are graduated. So as the taxable income increases, so do the tax rates. Thus, the lower your taxable income, the lower your tax rate will be. Individual ordinary tax rates range from 10% to as high 39.6%. The taxable income amounts for 10% to 25% tax rates are:
Filing Status (2016)
Single Married Filing Jointly Head of Household Married Filing Separate 10% 9,275 18,550 13,250 9,275 15% 37,650 75,300 50,400 37,650 25% 91,150 151,900 130,150 75,950 For instance, if you are single, your first $9,275 of taxable income is taxed at 10%. The next $28,375 ($37,650 – $9,275) is taxed at 15% and the next $53,500 ($91,150 – $37,650) is taxed at 25%.
Here are some strategies you can employ for your tax benefit. However, these strategies may be interdependent on one another and your particular tax circumstances.
Take IRA Distributions – Depending upon your projected taxable income, you might consider taking an IRA distribution to add income for the year. For instance, if the projected taxable income is negative, you can actually take a withdrawal of up to the negative amount without incurring any tax. Even if projected taxable income is not negative and your normal taxable income would put you in the 25% or higher bracket, you might want to take out just enough to be taxed at the 10% or even the 15% tax rates. Of course, those are retirement dollars; consider moving them into a regular financial account set aside for your retirement. Also be aware that distributions before age 59½ are subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty.
Defer Deductions – When you itemize your deductions, you may claim only the deductions you actually pay during the tax year (the calendar year for most folks). If your projected taxable income is going to be negative and you are planning on itemizing your deductions, you might consider putting off some of those year-end deductible payments until after the first of the year and preserving the deductions for next year. Such payments might include house of worship tithing, year-end charitable giving, tax payments (but not those incurring late payment penalties), estimated state income tax payments, medical expenses, etc.
Convert Traditional IRA Funds into a Roth IRA – To the extent of the negative taxable income or even just the lower tax rates, you may wish to consider converting some or all of your traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. The lower income results in a lower tax rate, which provides you with an opportunity to convert to a Roth IRA at a lower tax amount.
Zero Capital Gains Rate – There is a zero long-term capital gains rate for those taxpayers whose regular tax brackets are 15% or less (see table above). This may allow you to sell some appreciated securities that you have owned for more than a year and pay no or very little tax on the gain.
Business Expenses – The tax code has some very liberal provisions that allow a business to currently expense, rather than capitalize and slowly depreciate, the purchase cost of certain property. In a low-income year it may be appropriate to capitalize rather than expense these current year purchases and preserve the deprecation deduction for higher income years. This is especially true where there is a negative taxable income in the current year.
If you have obtained your medical insurance through a government marketplace, employing any of the strategies mentioned could impact the amount of your allowable premium tax credit.
Interested in discussing how these strategies might provide you tax benefit based upon your particular tax circumstances? Or, would like to schedule a tax planning appointment? Give Dagley & Co. a call today at (202) 417-6640.
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Owe Taxes and Can’t Pay?
Continue ReadingSome Americans end up owing and cannot pay their tax liabilities. Are you one of these unfortunate people?
The IRS encourages you to pay the full amount of your tax liability on time by imposing significant penalties and interest on late payments if you don’t. So if you are unable to pay the tax you owe, it is generally in your best interest to make other arrangements to obtain the funds for paying your taxes rather than be subjected to the government’s penalties and interest. Here are a few options to consider.
Family Loan – Obtaining a loan from a relative or friend may be the best bet because this type of loan is generally the least costly in terms of interest.
Credit Card – Another option is to pay by credit card with one of the service providers that work with the IRS. However, since the IRS will not pay the credit card discount fee, you will have to pay it and pay the higher credit card interest rates.
Installment Agreement – If you owe the IRS $50,000 or less, you may qualify for a streamlined installment agreement where you can make monthly payments for up to six years. You will still be subject to the late payment penalty, but it will be reduced by half. Interest will also be charged at the current rate, and there is a user fee to set up the payment plan. In making the agreement, a taxpayer agrees to keep all future years’ tax obligations current. If the taxpayer does not make payments on time or has an outstanding past due amount in a future year, they will be in default of their agreement and the IRS has the option of taking enforcement actions to collect the entire amount owed. Taxpayers seeking installment agreements exceeding $50,000 will need to validate their financial condition and need for an installment agreement by providing the IRS with a Collection Information Statement (financial statements). Taxpayers may also pay down their balance due to $50,000 or less to take advantage of the streamlined option.
Tap a Retirement Account – This is possibly the worst option for obtaining funds to pay your taxes because you are jeopardizing your retirement and the distributions are generally taxable at your highest bracket, which adds more taxes to your existing problem. In addition, if you are under age
59½, the withdrawal is also subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty that compounds the problem even further.Whatever you decide, don’t just ignore your tax liability because that is the worst thing you can do. Please call Dagley & Co. for assistance.
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