The Roth recharacterization provides one of the few second chances in the tax code. In essence, it's a do-over.
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.
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.
Although the Roth conversion isn't for everyone, financial advisers must have the conversion conversation with every client who qualifies.
The revenue-raising provision of the new health care law most likely to affect your clients is a 3.8% levy on investment income.
Unfortunately, many individuals are getting confused.
The beneficiary form is the single most important estate-planning document of individual retirement accounts and Roth IRAs, determining the ultimate value of the accounts, who ends up with the money and for how long.
By now, most financial advisers know that when you have after-tax money in an individual retirement account, you can't just convert those funds and pay no tax on the conversion.
The suspension of 2009 required-minimum distributions from retirement plans and IRAs was enacted as part of the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, which was signed into law Dec. 23.
The latest version of the tax credit for first-time homebuyers has two new features that may make the credit more widely available, which means more clients with Roth conversion income may be affected.
The Internal Revenue Service has closed another loophole in the Tax Code.
Chances are, you have clients in financial distress, with a need for ready cash.
Here are some key individual retirement account items to check on before the end of the year.
Two recent cases involving New York City employees illustrate how retirement plan loan provisions are more complex than they first appear, and how violating any of them can lead to serious tax consequences.
The Internal Revenue Service recently ruled that an improper transfer of funds from an individual retirement account from which the client was taking 72(t) payments triggered the 10% early-withdrawal penalty.
When Roth individual retirement accounts were created, it was inevitable that some taxpayers would attempt to exploit their advantageous provisions.
Individual retirement account owners under 59½ who take a distribution from their IRA are subject to a 10% penalty on the taxable amount of the distribution. But there are several exceptions to the penalty.
It's tax time, and more advisers are being asked by clients whether losses incurred in individual retirement accounts are deductible.
No required minimum distributions for 2009
