How a 73-Year-Old’s Initial Required Minimum Distribution Suddenly Raised Her Effective Tax Rate to 40 Percent
A situation arises that most retirees do not expect. At 73, a single retiree is pulling in $30,000 annually from Social Security. She also has $980,000 tucked away in a traditional IRA and an extra $250,000 in a regular brokerage account. To the casual observer, her financial situation seems pretty secure. But, by IRS rules, […]
How a 73-Year-Old’s Initial RMD Unexpectedly Raised Her Effective Tax Rate to 40 Percent
quick read The Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) of $37,000 can trigger a “tax torpedo,” leading to about 85% of Social Security benefits becoming part of taxable income, which could elevate your effective marginal tax rate to around 41%. Withdrawing each extra dollar from an IRA may generate $1.85 in taxable income, nearly doubling the 22% […]