What Can I Do With an Inherited Roth IRA? (2024)

John Hyre

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  • Last Updated: November 25, 2019

What can I do with an Inherited Roth IRA? – Video

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John Hyre: Inherited Roths. This is the stretch IRA concept. Google stretch IRA, especially stretch Roth. Here’s how a Roth works. If you inherit a Roth, you can take money out of it tax-free immediately. Normally to qualify for tax-free distributions from a Roth, it has to have existed for five years, and you have to be 59 and a half or older. If you inherit a Roth at any age, you could be four, you can take money out tax-free for the rest of your life immediately. In fact, you’re required to. There’s what’s called required minimum distributions. An inherited Roth, unlike a regular Roth, you are forced to withdraw the money. How did they come up with the formula? They take your life expectancy based on actuarial tables, and say, “You got to take out this much per year.”

Let’s think about two planning angles on that. First of all, let’s say you’re considerably under 59 and a half. In other words, it’s going to be a while until you can pull money out of your Roth tax-free. You may not want to, you may want to just keep growing it. You’re considerably under 59 and a half, arrange to inherit a Roth, even if it only has $2,000 in it. What can you do with it? We’ve talked about what you can do with only 2,000 bucks. Arrange to inherit a Roth. Now, there’s a couple of ways to do it. In my family, it’s easy. Well, part of it is. There are really two criteria; do you hate the government? Right, in my family, we got plenty. This is the delicate part, and I think you’re not going to live very long.

That could be a real buzzkill at dinner, but I’ve had clients do it, usually with relatives who are very well-off, very financially savvy, who would engage in this planning. Relatives in their late 80s or 90s. Inherit a Roth. I don’t recommend this. I have seen some people do it. They took it a little far, I thought. They actually trolled the old folks’ homes. They found a reason to pay someone compensation for some consulting. I don’t want to know. Then, they put just 500 bucks in a Roth, and then sat and waited for that person to kick off. They had their $500 seed, little seed, but they could take money from immediately and start growing it. What’s another turnaround on that, how do you pass your assets on?

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Passing a Roth, whoever gets it, should love you, a lot. You pass it to someone very young. You got to coordinate with estate tax issues and generation-skipping tax, but you pass it to someone very young. Why? Because the younger they are, the longer the account lasts, right? If you’re four years old, let’s say your expected life is 90, that’s 90 years tacked on to the existence of that Roth IRA. Where if someone inherits it when they’re 80, then not so much, right? Questions. Given you hopefully have a lot to think about. Guys, I don’t want to do any more rentals outside of these accounts. I’m especially focused on the 401K, I practice what I preach.

John Hyre

John Hyre is a tax attorney, accountant and investor. He has been practicing for twenty years in the area of tax law, with a focus on the taxation of real estate, small businesses and self-directed IRA’s/401k’s. John frequently speaks nationally on taxation and has successfully represented clients in IRS audits and in Tax Court. He is one of the few attorneys in the country who has been (and as of this writing, is still involved in) IRS audits of IRA’s as well as IRA-related Tax Court cases.

John Hyre

John Hyre is a tax attorney, accountant and investor. He has been practicing for twenty years in the area of tax law, with a focus on the taxation of real estate, small businesses and self-directed IRA’s/401k’s. John frequently speaks nationally on taxation and has successfully represented clients in IRS audits and in Tax Court. He is one of the few attorneys in the country who has been (and as of this writing, is still involved in) IRS audits of IRA’s as well as IRA-related Tax Court cases.

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What Can I Do With an Inherited Roth IRA? (1)

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What Can I Do With an Inherited Roth IRA? (2024)

FAQs

What Can I Do With an Inherited Roth IRA? ›

Under the Five-Year Rule, the assets are transferred to an inherited Roth IRA in your name. You can spread out the distributions, but you must withdraw all of the assets from the account by Dec. 31 of the fifth year following the year of the original account holder's death. You can withdraw contributions at any time.

What is the best thing to do with an inherited Roth IRA? ›

Under the Five-Year Rule, the assets are transferred to an inherited Roth IRA in your name. You can spread out the distributions, but you must withdraw all of the assets from the account by Dec. 31 of the fifth year following the year of the original account holder's death. You can withdraw contributions at any time.

How do I avoid paying taxes on an inherited Roth IRA? ›

A spouse who inherits can choose to become the account holder of the Roth IRA without any changes; this is called a spousal transfer. That is, no taxes should be owed on withdrawals from the account, and no minimum distributions are required.

Can I cash out an inherited Roth IRA? ›

Inherited Roth IRAs

Withdrawals of contributions from an inherited Roth are tax free. Most withdrawals of earnings from an inherited Roth IRA account are also tax-free. However, withdrawals of earnings may be subject to income tax if the Roth account is less than 5-years old at the time of the withdrawal.

Can I roll an inherited Roth IRA into my own? ›

The short answer is yes if you inherit the IRA from a spouse. But a rollover to your own IRA is not allowed if you inherit the IRA from anyone else.

What is the 5 year rule on inherited Roth IRAs? ›

The 5-year aging rule applies to inherited Roth IRAs as well, and rules around them can be complicated. To make qualified withdrawals, it must be 5 years since the beginning of the tax year when the original account owner made the initial contribution, even if the new owner is 59½ or older.

What do I do with my inherited IRA from my parents? ›

Options for beneficiaries
  1. "Disclaim" the inherited retirement account.
  2. Take a lump-sum distribution.
  3. Transfer the funds into your own IRA.
  4. Open a stretch IRA.
  5. Distribute the assets within 10 years.
  6. Distribute assets received through a will or estate.

How can I withdraw money from my inherited IRA without paying taxes? ›

Funds withdrawn from an inherited Roth IRA are generally tax-free if they are considered qualified distributions. That means the funds have been in the account for at least five years, including the time the original owner of the account was alive.

What is the disadvantage of an inherited IRA? ›

Disadvantages: The beneficiary will — with a few exceptions — have to pay a 10% penalty tax on pre-59½ distributions, says Levine. “Plus, RMDs could be accelerated if the deceased spouse was younger than surviving spouse.” 2. Transfer the assets into a properly titled inherited IRA.

How much tax will I pay if I cash out an inherited IRA? ›

If you inherit a Roth IRA, you're free of taxes. But with a traditional IRA, any amount you withdraw is subject to ordinary income taxes. For estates subject to the estate tax, inheritors of an IRA will get an income-tax deduction for the estate taxes paid on the account.

Do I need to take an RMD from an inherited Roth IRA? ›

Roth IRA owners don't need to take RMDs during their lifetimes, but beneficiaries who inherit Roth IRAs could have an annual RMD obligation. The requirement to distribute an annual amount can vary based on a number of factors (final age of the original IRA owner, number of beneficiaries, etc.).

What is the new rule on inherited IRAs? ›

The 10-year rule requires that all assets in the inherited IRA must be fully withdrawn by the end of the 10th year following the original IRA owner's death. (If the death occurred in 2019 or earlier, the 10-year rule was a five-year rule.)

What is the 5 year rule for Roth IRA? ›

The Roth IRA five-year rule says you cannot withdraw earnings tax-free until it's been at least five years since you first contributed to a Roth IRA account. This five-year rule applies to everyone who contributes to a Roth IRA, whether they're 59 ½ or 105 years old.

What is the best thing to do with an inherited IRA? ›

Action: Take the inheritance in a lump-sum withdrawal for access to the funds immediately. Considerations: You miss out on potential tax-deferred growth on the account balance.

How to avoid taxes on an inherited IRA? ›

Spouses can rollover funds from an inherited traditional IRA into an existing or new traditional IRA in their name and treat the inherited funds as their own. This allows them to delay paying taxes until they reach retirement age and begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs).

How do I report an inherited Roth IRA on my tax return? ›

The taxable amount is reported on Form 1040, Page 1 and is not reported on Form 8606. Attach a separate Form 8606 to the return to report the basis of the inherited IRA. Per IRS 1040 e-file limitations, only 1 Form 8606 per taxpayer can be electronically filed.

What is the best way to withdraw money from an inherited IRA? ›

Taking distributions from an inherited Roth IRA

Roth IRA beneficiaries with long-term goals may consider letting their inheritance grow tax-free until the tenth year then withdrawing the full amount in a lump sum because they do not have to pay taxes on those funds until that time.

What is the best strategy for an inherited IRA? ›

A person who inherits an IRA can expose themselves to significant tax consequences if they simply withdraw the money from the account in a single lump sum. By stretching withdrawals out over the years, on the other hand, they can keep taxes as low as possible while still benefiting from the inheritance.

Do inherited IRAs have to be distributed in 10 years? ›

The SECURE Act requires the entire balance of the participant's inherited IRA account to be distributed or withdrawn within 10 years of the death of the original owner. However, there are exceptions to the 10-year rule, and spouses inheriting an IRA have a much broader range of options available to them.

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