By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF®
IRA Analyst

QUESTION:

I am age 74 and inherited both a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA from my older sister who recently died. Can I do a conversion from the inherited IRA into the inherited Roth IRA?

Daniel

ANSWER:

Daniel,

Non-spouse beneficiaries like yourself cannot convert an inherited traditional IRA to an inherited Roth IRA. However, if you have your own traditional IRA (not inherited), you could do Roth conversions with that account and take withdrawals from your inherited traditional IRA to help cover the taxes due.

QUESTION:

I inherited a Roth IRA from my brother who was seven years younger than me. I understand that I can choose either the 10-year rule or the stretch. Can I use my brother’s age to determine the annual required minimum distributions (RMDs) if I choose the stretch?

Thanks,

Jeremy

ANSWER:

Jeremy,

Since you qualify as an eligible designated beneficiary (EDB) under the “not more than 10 years younger” category, you are correct that you can choose either the 10-year rule (with no annual RMDs) or the full stretch (with annual RMDs) on this inherited Roth IRA. If you elect annual RMDs, you must use your own age from the IRS Single Life Table. Start with your age in the year after the year of death to determine your initial RMD factor. Then, subtract 1.0 each year thereafter.

If you have technical questions you would like to have answered, be sure to submit them to mailbag@irahelp.com, to be answered on an upcoming Slott Report Mailbag, published every Thursday.

https://irahelp.com/can-i-do-a-conversion-from-the-inherited-ira-into-the-inherited-roth-ira-todays-slott-report-mailbag/