ira beneficary

Submitted by b s on Thu, 2019-08-29 20:58

filling out the forms for my husbands ira he passed away.. right now trying to check the right boxes. i need help do i transfer the ira or a new ira. to save on taxes. im in my 70,s age. please explain thank you forms in hand here , thanks



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Fri, 2019-08-30 00:56

  • Sorry to hear of your loss. You should advise the IRA custodian you elect to assume ownership of his IRA. The custodian will then transfer the balance to a new IRA owned by you. To assume ownership you must be the only beneficiary of the IRA and you should name your own beneficiary on the owned IRA account. If you also have your own IRA, you can transfer the new IRA into the IRA you already own.
  • If your husband had an RMD due for 2019 that he did not distribute before passing, you must distribute the balance of that RMD by year end. But if he was younger than 72, in order to provide accurate advice, please advise his date of birth and date of death. 
  • Starting in 2020, your RMD for this IRA will be based on your age as of 12/31/2020, just as any IRA for an IRA you already own will be based on that age.
  • If you have a question about a particular box to check, please advise. You should not continue this as an inherited IRA, you need to become the owner which has two advantages. There are much lower RMDs, and you own beneficiary will be able to stretch out distributions longer once they inherit from you.
  • If you have any further questions, please ask.


Submitted by b s on Sun, 2019-09-01 03:29

after getting the Ira This year and  take the rmd. When do I  claim it as income 2020 for 2019 Tax year.  can l take any money out of the Ira other then rmd this year without penalty? I am 70 yrs old.   Can I give my kids money gift,would that help my income taxes?  Thanks alan



Submitted by b s on Sun, 2019-09-01 04:04

My husband passed away June 2019 86 yrs old.  



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Sun, 2019-09-01 14:44

  • For 2019, you must take out your husband’s 2019 RMD if he did not complete it before passing. That RMD would be taxable to you, but you can still file jointly for 2019. You will get a 1099R reporting any distributions you take and you must report them on your joint tax return. First, you should have the inherited IRA titled to show you as beneficiary, and at the same time tell the custodian that you elect to be treated as the owner of that IRA. Then you can take out the rest of your husband’s RMD if applicable and you can take out more than that if you wish. There is no penalty for taking out more, but you will still be taxed on the amount you withdraw. You will have a 2020 RMD based on your age at the end of 2020 and also for each year after that. You can do whatever you wish with the money, but there is no tax deduction for donating to family. Because the standard deduction has been increased, you may not be itemizing deductions unless perhaps there were high medical costs for your husband or you that are paid this year. 
  • Your RMD for 2020 and beyond will be far less than your husband’s was since you are much younger.
  • I assume that you were the sole beneficiary on the inherited IRA.


Submitted by b s on Mon, 2019-09-02 17:25

on the ira transfer to new  my ira forms     do i  want with holding tax or not? which is best?   also  how to check the box  distrubution?     is a contingentcy a back up  beneficary  if  death of beneficary named?                                      thank you for your help      



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Mon, 2019-09-02 17:37

  • The transfer to your own IRA should be a direct trustee transfer, not a distribution and rollover. Since there would be no distribution, there is no tax due and no withholding. However, if you take a distribution (check payable to you personally) which would include any RMD you can elect to have taxes withheld. If you do not indicate anything 10% will be withheld. You can request a higher withholding % if you want, or you can decline withholding. I don’t know how you have been paying your taxes in the past, as you probably used quarterly estimates, withholding from an income source, or a combination of both. Withholding is easier if you choose to set things up that way.  Some IRA custodians only withhold state income taxes in certain states.
  • You should name your own beneficiary and contingent beneficiary, who would receive the account if your beneficiary pre deceases you. That also gives your beneficiary, if living at your death, the option to disclaim the IRA and it will then pass to your contingent beneficiary.


Submitted by b s on Mon, 2019-09-02 17:58

i filed married as single last year , i had social secuirty  income only.   paid no income tax  for the year. would it be better to file this way again?  he had a trust and they will file for him.       thxs so much 



Submitted by b s on Mon, 2019-09-02 18:01

i was the sole beneibicary on the  trad. ira   how do i handle the  roth one?    clueless   thanks.



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Mon, 2019-09-02 23:12

You would have to determine why you have been filing MFS (married filing separately) and if that reason is still valid. Filing MFS will result in more of your SS being taxable if you have any other income in addition to SS. As for the inherited Roth IRA, you would elect ownership of it in the same manner as the traditional IRA. If your husband made his first Roth contribution prior to 2015, then your Roth will be fully tax free with no RMDs due.



Submitted by b s on Tue, 2019-09-03 00:57

he had a trust with the kids everything goes to them thru schwab . i only  got the ira thru schwab, we thought it would mess up the trust if we filed together.  he did have a lot, he didn’t share much info with me, so i am lost here. remember i didnt have much income  but taking out the ira wuld hurt me i think. his was his and  mine was mine.  



Submitted by b s on Tue, 2019-09-03 01:03

the kids get his mail  but i will call schwab on the rmd



Submitted by b s on Wed, 2019-09-04 02:10

i called schwab,  yes the rmd was taken out for 2019. how do you determen withholding ?



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Wed, 2019-09-04 03:12

Determine how much you need withheld to avoid any under withholding penalty. If you do not specify a % then 10% will be withheld from a traditional IRA distribution, but nothing from a Roth distribution. You can increase the 10% if you need to, and you can decline withholding but probably cannot withhold less than 10% unless you decline. Specify the % you want when you take the distribution.



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