This simple strategy may help you reduce your IRA RMD taxes


Everyone hates being told what to do, and retirees even hate it when they are told what to do comes with a massive tax bill. RMDS.

RMD is a way of getting a quietly increasing amount of money in individual retirement accounts and getting many of the workplace retirement accounts whose contributions are tax-free until they take away money. After reaching age 72 (70.5 if born before July 1, 1949), the tax man escapes patience and demands that retired savers begin to earn cash so that they are taxed at a certain percentage of the eggs in the nest.

But wait, it gets worse. In addition to the usually expected tax hit, RMD can push you into higher taxes. This means giving up even more of what you withdraw. RMDs can also raise taxable income until Social Security benefits are taxed, and increase Medicare premiums.

The RMD was exempt by the IRS in the 2020 tax year as part of the pandemic relief, but it will return in 2021 and there are no indications that it will be put on hold in 2022.

However, if you feel generous, there is one move to ensure that RMDs are not taxed at all, preventing them from counting their distribution towards total taxable income. a Financial Advisor It can help you with your tax liability strategy for retirement income.

Use QCD to reduce RMD tax

A word of secret? charity. By using a qualified charity distribution, or QCD. You can donate up to $100,000 to a particular charity and pay 0% tax on your withdrawal. In addition to avoiding income tax on withdrawal, you will also increase your donation by giving pre-tax money to the cause of charity. Finally, QCDs can help lower future RMDs. This is reduced annually based on average life expectancy.

QCD also allows taxpayers to use the standard deduction increase to receive charitable deductions even if they are not itemized. In fact, QCDs may be better than itemized deductions as they can reduce adjusted gross income. This is the basis for other deductions and credits.

QCD Maneuver is only available through IRA and IRA-based retirement plans, such as SEP accounts and simple IRAs where the owner no longer contributes. Can’t contribute from a 401 (k)403(b) or other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

All this is handled by the IRS, so of course there are some limitations and requirements. QCDs must come from IRA taxable money. This excludes contributions from post-tax rollovers or irreducible contributions. Donations must be made directly from the account to the charity, and the money must be sent to an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) charity.

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