Approaching this season of holiday cheer, we are thinking about William Roth—and may even raise a glass in his honor.
Senator Roth was instrumental in creating something new. It appeared in the Tax Reform Act of 1997. And it has some wonderful features. It’s…
- A retirement account, but after five years you may withdraw your deposits for any reason without tax or penalty.
- A retirement account, but it may be used to educate your children or grandchildren without penalty or tax.
- A retirement account, but there are no income taxes due on withdrawals during retirement.
The Roth IRA, as we know it, is a useful addition to the plans and planning of many people. Contributions may be made by those with earned income (but not too much earned income: there is an upper limit.) Conversions from traditional IRAs may be made by anyone willing to pay tax on the converted amount.
You may be eligible to put up to $6,500 into a Roth IRA for 2023, anytime until tax filing time in 2024. And the limit next year goes to $7,000. And those of us lucky enough to be 50 years old or older could contribute an extra $1,000 beyond that as a catch-up.
If you have traditional retirement accounts, you may be eligible to convert part to a Roth IRA. There are no income limits on conversions; if you believe tax rates may be higher for you in the future, it might make sense to do a conversion. These happen on a calendar year deadline, however, so 2023 conversions must actually be done in 2023.
Although a Roth IRA may not be right for everyone, the concept was and is right for me. I’m getting tax-free capital gains, tax-free dividends on blue chip stocks, and tax-free interest because I have investments inside a Roth IRA.
And I can take funds out and spend them (or give them away), any day, with zero tax.
If this might be right for you, please email us or call.
Traditional IRA account owners have considerations to make before performing a Roth IRA conversion. These primarily include income tax consequences on the converted amount in the year of conversion, withdrawal limitations from a Roth IRA, and income limitations for future contributions to a Roth IRA.
A Roth IRA offers tax deferral on any earnings in the account. Qualified withdrawals of earnings from the account are tax-free. Withdrawals of earnings prior to age 59½ or prior to the account being opened for 5 years, whichever is later, may result in a 10% IRS penalty tax. Limitations and restrictions may apply.
Want content like this in your inbox each week? Leave your email here.
Play the audio version of this post below:
You must be logged in to post a comment.