Quote:
Originally Posted by Ladygolfer93
You are so right ! I was never a particularly high earner but a Roth never made sense for me. It really depends on your circumstances, do you work for a public or private sector, all kinds of considerations. For some it is indeed a good vehicle, but certainly not for most at all. My major concern is HOW MRD's are figured, WHEN they are figured, etc. I am quite frustrated with the variety of answers I have received by Fidelity (depends on which rep you get on which day as to the answer). One Vanguard rep just said she really was not sure !
Will my new MRD be figured on my balance on Jan. 1, 2019 ? Even my tax preparer gave an answer different from the two brokerages mentioned ? Dah !!
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Hi Ladygolfer,
The RMD amount to take for 2019 is figured on the balance in the IRA on December 31 of 2018.
If you Google the question of how to determine the amount, you will find information, including the IRS publication. But the info can look a little convoluted at first glance, and second glance, on some of the sites.
If you have reached RMD age or if it is arriving in 2019, and if your IRA is on deposit in an account you can see online, you might find the amount is already calculated and posted there for you — for that account only.
If you use bank CDs, the bank’s computers should already have that amount calculated, too. It could appear on a statement or you might need to contact them for the amount — again, for that account only.
Something to keep in mind is to be clear to understand that if you have multiple accounts, and those accounts are all of the same type of IRA, the RMD from all can be totaled and the entire RMD taken from just one of the accounts. (Once again, my disclaimer: Please check anything I say with an actual accountant — that would not be me.)
Someone in this thread made the excellent point of not getting into having to sell stock to pay taxes. Good advice. One thing that can help is to allow dividends to accumulate instead of reinvesting them or to maintain liquid cash somewhere else but in the same type of IRA account.
(Geez. I have no idea why in the world I like to talk about taxesz-z-z-z-z. I think I need an intervention. I will try to shut up now. But first, be forewarned, once more, that it is entirely possible that I have no idea what I am talking about.)