It’s arduous for individuals to maintain up with the greater than 100 modifications the SECURE Act 2.0 made in retirement plans and associated tax code provisions. Right here’s a abstract of the important thing modifications in required minimal distributions (RMDs) within the legislation that was enacted on the finish of 2022.

The start age for RMDs of homeowners of conventional IRAs is transitioning in phases from 70½ (in impact when the unique SECURE Act was enacted on the finish of 2019) to 75 for these born in 1960 or later.

Anybody who turned 72 in 2022 or earlier follows the outdated guidelines. Those that turned 72 in 2022 need to take their first RMD no later than April 1, 2023. In the event you had been taking RMDs earlier than 2022, proceed taking RMDs on the schedule you had in place.

Those that flip 72 in 2023 by 2033 (born from 1951 to 1959) have 73 as their RMD beginning age. They need to take the primary RMD by April 1 of the yr after they flip 73. It’s normally finest to take that first RMD within the yr you flip 73 as an alternative of ready till the next yr.

Anybody born in 1960 or later has 75 because the RMD beginning age. They should take their first RMDs by April 1 of the yr after turning 75. However, once more, most often it is going to be higher to take the primary RMD within the yr they flip 75.

There isn’t a change within the RMDs for beneficiaries who inherited conventional and Roth IRAs. Most of them comply with the 10-year rule created within the authentic SECURE Act.

A welcome provision within the SECURE Act 2.0 is the numerous discount within the penalty for not taking an RMD. Since 1974, the penalty has been 50% of the quantity that ought to have been distributed however wasn’t.

The penalty is lowered to 25% and could be diminished to 10% if the IRA proprietor makes up the RMD in a well timed method. The legislation says this implies the complete quantity is distributed by the sooner of the second yr after the RMD was missed or earlier than the IRS assesses a penalty.

The decrease penalty applies to all individuals who need to take RMDs, together with those that needed to start RMDs at earlier ages beneath the outdated guidelines.

The IRS was pretty beneficiant prior to now in waiving the 50% penalty so long as the distribution finally was made and an affordable excuse was provided for the delay. Cheap excuses included confusion over the principles, well being issues, a dying within the household, and receiving incorrect recommendation.

The IRS nonetheless can waive the decrease penalty when an affordable excuse is obtainable, but it surely’s not clear if the IRS shall be as lenient now that the penalty is decrease than 50%.

A late RMD is reported and a request for waiver of the penalty is made on Kind 5329, which is filed together with your revenue tax return.

The SECURE Act 2.0 additionally reduces the statute of limitations on the RMD penalty.

Beforehand, the three-year statute of limitations on the RMD penalty didn’t begin working till the IRA proprietor filed Kind 5329. If the taxpayer didn’t file the shape, there was no statute of limitations, evenif the taxpayer didn’t learn about this obligation, the three-year statute of limitations didn’t apply. The taxpayer might be assessed the penalty years after the RMDs was missed, and the IRS did that every so often.

Beneath the SECURE Act 2.0, the statute of limitations begins working when the Kind 1040 is filed for the yr the RMD was purported to be taken, even when Kind 5329 isn’t included with the 1040.

The SECURE Act 2.0 additionally eliminates the RMD obligation for authentic house owners of Roth 401(okay) accounts. Beneath the outdated guidelines, Roth 401(okay) account house owners needed to take RMDs simply because the house owners of conventional 401(okay) accounts do. This was a serious distinction between Roth IRAs and Roth 401(okay)s, as a result of Roth IRA house owners by no means needed to take RMDs throughout their lifetimes.

The elimination of the RMD requirement for Roth 401(okay) house owners doesn’t take impact till 2024.