2009 RMD Rules Waiver for IRA and 401k Accounts
The market crash caused by the real estate bubble collapsing and the financial tricks of many Wall Street firms prompted Congress to pass a law giving IRA account holders the option of skipping RMDs for 2009. This is a one-time deviation from the usual IRA RMD calculation.
Of course, taxpayers who wish to withdraw money from their IRA accounts are still eligible to do so. However, those who do not need the money can opt out of their Required Minimum Distributions in 2009.
By skipping 2009 RMDs, people can let their IRAs recover from the massive losses caused by the steep decline in the stock market during 2008 and the first part of 2009. The prevents locking in losses by selling investments at low prices just to meet IRS requirements for distributions.
As an added bonus, because there is no money being withdrawn, no taxes have to be paid like they would have been if the funds had been taken. This allows many Americans to save big on their taxes in 2009.
There is no acceleration of RMDs in future years. In other words, the amount of RMD skipped does not have to be made up by taking more money in later years. Assuming no further Congressional action, IRA account holders required to take RMDs will return to using the same tables and calculations previously used.
In short, the specified percentage from the IRS RMD tables will need to be withdrawn during 2010 based upon the IRA account balance on December, 31, 2009.
