Prior to 2020, passing wealth from generation to generation through an IRA was a straightforward strategy. A family could take a pot of money and grow it tax-free or tax-deferred, passing it down the family tree.
Now, to borrow from a Facebook relationship status option, it’s complicated.
The U.S. Senate passed the SECURE Act in December 2019. It includes a provision that prohibits stretching the distribution of an inherited IRA for an indefinite amount of time.
“You only give a traditional IRA to heirs you don’t like after this rule change,” money expert Clark Howard says. “You give them a traditional IRA, and the IRS is pounding them over the head with a sledgehammer every year.”
What did the rule change in terms of IRAs and inheritance? Are the rules different for a spouse? What are other, better vehicles to transfer wealth to your children or grandchildren? And will the IRS forgive you if you failed to adapt to the new rule in 2020, 2021 or 2022?
Table of Contents
- How the SECURE Act Changed the IRA Inheritance Rules
- Missed Distributions: Forgiveness for 2020-22
- Inheriting an IRA: Roth vs. Traditional
- Why IRAs Make for Less Than Ideal Inheritance Gifts
- What Are the Rules When a Spouse Inherits an IRA?
How the SECURE Act Changed the IRA Inheritance Rules
If you’re the direct beneficiary of an IRA that belonged to someone who died before Jan. 1, 2020, you can still stretch out your withdrawals over your lifetime.
The rules were more nuanced than that, but that was the basic framework. People even called it a “stretch” IRA.
Now if you inherit an IRA, you must empty the account within 10 years.
There are some exceptions:
- Surviving spouses (more on this later)
- A beneficiary not more than 10 years younger than the deceased
- Disabled and/or chronically ill beneficiaries
- Minors (the 10-year clock starts when they reach the age of majority)
- Those who inherited an IRA in 2020, 2021 or 2022 (temporary exception only)
So unless you are one of these exceptions, the entire IRA account must be paid out within 10 years. And to make matters even more complicated, the IRS is proposing that if you inherit a traditional IRA account from someone who started taking their required minimum distributions (RMDs) before their death, you have to take your own RMDs on years one through nine before you finish draining the account on year 10. Meanwhile, with Roth IRAs, you could wait until year 10 to take the entire distribution.
The IRS can penalize you 25 cents on every dollar if you fail to take your RMD on time. That’s down from 50% prior to 2023. The IRS also may drop your penalty down to 10 cents on the dollar if you correct your mistake and take your necessary RMD within two years.
There is a small silver lining: Because you’re forced to drain the accounts within a decade, the IRS won’t slap you with a 10% early withdrawal penalty for taking the money out before you turn 59½.
Naming an IRA Beneficiary: Individuals vs. Entities
If you want to avoid even harsher withdrawal rules, you must name an individual or individuals as designated beneficiaries of your IRA. That’s virtually the only way for your beneficiaries to stretch out their tax deferrals and withdrawals to the maximum of 10 years.
If you leave your IRA to an estate, a trust (with exceptions), a charity, a corporation or any other entity other than an individual, the money has to be taken out (and any taxes paid) much sooner.
Missed Distributions: Forgiveness for 2020-22
If you inherited a traditional IRA in 2020, 2021 or 2022 but missed the proposed rule change on RMDs from the SECURE Act, the IRS is extending you forgiveness.
That’s right: If you inherited a traditional IRA after Dec. 31, 2019, you were supposed to take Required Minimum Distributions by the end of the next year.
For example, if your benefactor died in 2020, under the new rule, you were supposed to withdraw a certain amount of the money by Dec. 31, 2021. And if you failed to meet the deadline, the rule specifies you’d owe the IRS a 50% penalty on those dollars.
However, due to confusion with the rule change, the IRS delayed the effective date of the new rule until 2023. In July 2023, the IRS pushed the date of the rule going into place yet again. The IRS was not expecting the final guidance on RMDs until 2024.
In other words, anyone who inherited an IRA in 2020, 2021 or 2022 and missed taking their RMDs by the end of the year will not have to pay a penalty.
However, beneficiaries of traditional IRAs inherited from 2020-22 should be prepared to take distributions to meet RMD requirements.
Inheriting an IRA: Roth vs. Traditional
Clark loves all things Roth. He says tax rates are at historical lows now, and he expects taxes to rise in the future.
With a Roth, you contribute post-tax dollars. In other words, you are putting in money that you have already paid taxes on.
While a Roth IRA doesn’t reduce your taxable income, your investments in a Roth 401(k) or IRA grow tax-free and can be withdrawn tax-free.
If you inherit a Roth IRA, you don’t have to pay any taxes as you drain the account within 10 years. You also have more flexibility about when you take your distributions. You could even wait until the 10th year to take one lump-sum distribution.
On the other hand, if you inherit a traditional IRA, you’ll owe income tax on every dollar you withdraw as you empty the account within 10 years and will likely have to take RMDs during years 1-9.
One way to avoid giving your loved one a huge tax bill is by doing a Roth conversion during your lifetime. You can convert your traditional IRA to a Roth — and spread the taxes out over many years. And then, at your death, your beneficiary will receive a tax-free Roth.
They will still have to abide by all of the Secure Act rules and withdrawal timelines.
Why IRAs Make Less Than Ideal Inheritance Gifts
1. Complicated Rules
Within the last two years, I’ve written about almost every nuance of retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k) accounts including back-door Roth IRAs, spousal IRAs, RMDs and more.
However, the rules around inherited IRAs are by far the most complicated that I’ve come across. It’s almost impossible to state every caveat, exception and nuance of the rules surrounding inherited IRAs and the rules and requirements around withdrawals.
But here’s one you should keep in mind: If you aren’t a spouse and you inherit an IRA, you must set up a new account with a specific account name that conforms to tax law. Don’t put the account in your name.
2. ‘Hammered’ on Taxes
Going back to the beginning of the article, Clark mentioned that the IRS hits IRA inheritors over the head with a tax “sledgehammer” each year. You have to withdraw the full amount in the IRA you inherited within 10 years. And when you’re withdrawing from a traditional IRA, the IRS considers every dollar as taxable income.
If you’re still working, that extra income can push you into a higher tax bracket.
Also, it can get awfully complicated trying to divide funds equally if they’re split among Roth and traditional IRAs.
For example, you can try to leave the traditional IRA funds to the person in the lowest tax bracket. But it’s challenging to predict what the tax brackets of the beneficiaries will be years in the future. If there are multiple beneficiaries, they can also split the IRA into multiple accounts by Dec. 31 the year following the benefactor’s death.
That’s one of the reasons Clark says, only somewhat in jest, that you only leave IRAs to heirs you dislike.
Simpler Solutions
There are much simpler, less tax-punitive ways to leave wealth to your relatives. They include:
- Real estate (including houses)
- Stocks, mutual funds and ETFs held in a taxable brokerage account
- Trust funds
What Are the Rules When a Spouse Inherits an IRA?
If you inherit an IRA as a surviving spouse, you at least have options, though they’re perhaps even more complex than if you’re a non-spouse.
You essentially have three choices:
- Treat the IRA as your own and become the account owner. This can be a good option if you’re younger than your deceased spouse.
- Roll over (transfer) the funds into your own IRA. You have 60 days to execute this transfer. This creates a “fresh start” IRA. You can delay the withdrawals until you’re 73 years old when your RMDs kick in. Keep in mind you can also split the funds in the IRA you inherited between the first option and this one.
- Treat yourself as the account beneficiary. This can be the best option if you were born well before your deceased spouse.
Depending on which option you choose, the 60-day timeline can be very challenging when mourning a spouse.
If you need assistance and don’t have a financial advisor, consider the Garrett Planning Network. Enter your ZIP code and you’ll get a list of fee-only fiduciaries near you.
Garrett’s member advisors must be accessible, meaning they can’t reject clients based on income or assets. They provide financial planning and investment advice on an hourly, as-needed basis.
Final Thoughts
Confused yet? If you’ve made it this far, I commend you. This is complex stuff.
Let’s zoom out and recap.
If you’re lucky enough to have amassed wealth across multiple pots, including a house, retirement funds, savings and stocks, congratulations. You have options.
Consider withdrawing and spending the funds in your IRA first. Your beneficiaries will thank you for saving them from a massive headache — and the potential for legal missteps.
However, getting any inheritance at all is not a given. It’s a major plus to leave any substantial amount of money to a child or family member even if it’s attached to complicated IRA rules.
If you leave your IRA to your loved ones, make sure you specify a person (or multiple people) as the beneficiary to make sure they have as many options as possible.
Join the conversation in our Clark.com Community where members are discussing alternatives to spending IRA money before you die!
Questions about IRAs or other money topics? Call Team Clark’s free Consumer Action Center. An experienced volunteer can help: 636-492-5275.
