近距离内射合集

Question: I have my own IRA, which I established with a rollover from a prior employer鈥檚 plan. I am 38 years old and have about $88,000 in that IRA. My father recently passed away, and I will be inheriting his IRA, which is about $820,000. Will I be able to simply add his IRA balance to my existing account?

No, you will not be able to combine the two account balances. The two accounts are fundamentally different and subject to different rules.

You will open an inherited IRA in your name to accept the funds from your father鈥檚 account. This can be with the same custodian you presently use.

IRAs are subject to rules regarding distributions. If you take funds too early, you can be penalized. The same holds if you take funds out too late.

The two accounts that you will now have are subject to different rules about when it is too early or too late to take distributions.

Let鈥檚 start with your existing account. You will be penalized if you take funds out of this account before reaching age 59 1/2.

In general, distributions from IRAs are delayed (with a few exceptions) until you reach what might be thought of as a retirement age.

You must begin to take annual distributions from the existing account when you reach age 75.

So, for the existing account, you have a long way to go before distributions can or must be taken. This allows you to enjoy tax-free growth in the account.

An inherited IRA is not your retirement account, and you will be forced to withdraw funds long before your retirement.

The inherited IRA is subject to mandatory withdrawal rules. If your father passed away in 2026, the entire account must be distributed by December 31, 2037.

Exactly how this works depends on whether your father was required to take distributions before his death.

If he was not required to take distributions (based on his age), then you have complete flexibility to time the distributions that you take.

That is, you must exhaust the account by the end of 2037 (10 years after the year of his death) but can do so at any time in that 10-year period.

All distributions will be taxable to you. You could spread the distributions annually to reduce the effect on your taxable income and tax rate.

You could also choose to backload the distributions to allow for a longer period of tax-free growth.

If your father was required to take annual distributions, then your choices become more limited.

You must also receive required minimum distributions each year. Your first distribution would begin in 2027.

The minimum distribution would be based on your single-life expectancy. The account still must be exhausted by the end of 2037.

You could take more than the required minimum each year, or even for one year, but you cannot put the first distribution off beyond 2027.

If your father did not take his 2026 required distribution, that would also have to be made before the end of this year.

There are exceptions to many of the rules that I discussed, but they are not likely to apply to you.

For example, inherited IRA distributions can be delayed for a minor beneficiary until they reach the age of majority.

Similarly, distributions may be delayed for disabled beneficiaries or chronically ill beneficiaries.

Finally, distributions may be delayed for beneficiaries with an age within 10 years of the decedent (for example, you inherit your sibling鈥檚 IRA).

The purpose of the 10-year rule is to prevent the beneficiary from delaying distributions to maximize tax-free growth in the IRA.

The rules are well known to custodians handling inherited IRAs, so when you pick a custodian, I would suggest reviewing your options with them.

If there are any exceptions that might apply to you, the custodian should be able to help you with your choices.

The inherited IRA is fairly large, and the 10-year withdrawal requirement will have a significant effect on your federal and state tax liabilities.

If you have someone who prepares your tax returns, they could help you understand the effects of the options by using projections in tax software.

Jim Hamill is the director of tax practice at Reynolds, Hix & Co. in Albuquerque. He can be reached at jimhamill@rhcocpa.com.