August 31 – The Deadline for Rolling Back RMDs into Retirement Accounts

President Trump officially signed the CARES Act on March 27, 2020. The Act allows retirement plan owners to skip taking their Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) in 2020, if they so choose. This is intended to benefit those who are in a good financial position and do not need to take their RMDs during these unsettling times. What about those who already had taken their RMDs for 2020?

This is the subject of a recent article titled “Don’t Miss the August 31 Deadline to Return 2020 Required Minimum Distributions” from The Street.

First, the IRS announced that anyone who had already taken RMDs before the CARES Act became law could return the funds to their retirement accounts. However, the window of time to return the withdrawn funds was pretty short—only 60 days.

On June 23, the IRS extended the time period to Aug. 31, 2020. That seemed like a long time ago, back in late June. But now the clock is ticking, and Aug. 31 is just around the corner!

Note: the repayment is not subject to the singular 12-month rollover limitation, also known as the “once-per-year rollover rule.” And the same repayment applies to beneficiary, or inherited, IRAs.

The ability to rollover funds back into tax-deferred accounts is a help on several different levels. One, the account owner does not have to pay income taxes on RMDs for the year (unless they were Roth accounts, which pay taxes on contributions and not withdrawals). Also, this spring was a rocky one for markets, and returning money into tax-deferred accounts gives the accounts a chance to recover from some significant market swings.

Speak with your estate planning attorney and financial advisor about your RMDs for 2020, and how the CARES Act RMD waiver may apply to your situation.

Reference: The Street (July 29, 2020) “Don’t Miss the August 31 Deadline to Return 2020 Required Minimum Distributions”