HomeIRA Hot TopicsIRA TrainingIRA Manual Order


 
 
Check back frequently for updates and guidance on all these new changes.
 
 
 
August 12-13, 2025 IRA Live Stream Webinar - 2 full days IRA Essentials and Beyond 
 
https://partners.bankwebinars.com/ira-essentials-and-beyond-2-day-streaming-70bwus257120e?partner=sunwest-training-corp
 
 
2025 IRA Webinar 4-Part Fall Series: https://partners.bankwebinars.com/2025-iras-from-a-z-4-part-series-70bwus255040e?partner=sunwest-training-corp
 

9/17/25       IRA Part 1 - The Basic Essentials 
https://partners.bankwebinars.com/iras-part-1-the-basic-essentials-70bwus255041g?partner=sunwest-training-corp

9/30/25       IRA Part 2 - Rollovers and Transfers
https://partners.bankwebinars.com/iras-part-2-understanding-the-difference-between-rollovers-and-transfers-70bwus255042g?partner=sunwest-training-corp

10/15//25    IRA Part 3 - Distributions to Owners and Beneficiaries
https://partners.bankwebinars.com/iras-part-3-distributions-to-ira-owners-and-beneficiaries-70bwus255043g?partner=sunwest-training-corp

10/22/25     IRA Part 4 - Successfully Auditing your IRAs Files
https://partners.bankwebinars.com/iras-part-4-successfully-auditing-your-ira-files-70bwus255044g?partner=sunwest-training-corp
 
 

 
 
Important Note:  Required Minimum Distributions from must be met from the customers total IRA plans before any funds can be rolled over to an IRA.
 
 
"IRA Update":  In July 2024, the IRS realeased IRS Notice 2024-190 which finalized the Proposed Regulations released in February 2022 and clarified the Beneficiary Payout Options.
Effective 2025:  Beneficiaries of owners who died beginning in 2020 and the owner had reached his/her Required Beginning Date (April 1st of the year after RMD age) can no longer skip death distributions in years 1-9. Simply put, if the owner was in RMD status at death, the beneficiary must begin taking distributions the year after the owner died based on the younger age of the beneficiary or deceased owner.  Those must continue in years 1-9 and then closed by 12/31 of the 10th year after the owner dies.  For beneficiaries of owners who died between 2020-2024, the IRS did not impose a late penalty if distributions were not taken.  Beginning in 2025, they must start RMDs for the remaining 9-year period and still have it closed by 12/31 of the 10th year after the owner died.  To obtain the 2025 divisor: Using the Single Life Table look up the age of the beneficiary in the year after death, or the owner's age in the year of death (if younger than the beneficiary) and subtract one for every year up to 2025 to get next year's divisor.
 
 
SECURE Act 2.0 signed into law December 29, 2022
Raises Required Minimum Distribution age to 73 for those born between 1951 and 1959.
Raises Required Minimum Distribution age to 75 for those born after 1959
 
New W-4R Federal Withholding Requirements
The W-4P will no longer be used for an IRA client to choose to opt out or choose a percentage of federal withholding.
From January 2023 forward, the W-4R will replace the W-4P and be used as follows:
 
 
'On-Demand' Nonperiodic Payments - An IRA Distribution Form with a W-4R must be completed and signed for every IRA distribution where the client is not choosing the default 10% federal income tax withholding.  On line 2 of the W-4R the client can choose 0-100% federal income tax withholding.  If that form is not signed by the client for each withdrawal, the bank must default to 10% federal income tax withholding.

 
'Scheduled' Automatic Payments (monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.)  When a client sets up a scheduled payment from an IRA beginning in 2023, they must make the federal withholding election on the W-4R when setting up the schedule.  The bank must annually notify these clients by sending them an Annual Notice of Federal Withholding no more than 6 months before the scheduled payment date that they have the right to change their withholding election on file by completing a new W-4R.

 
 
Existing clients set up on "Scheduled" payments who previously signed a W-4P do not have to sign the new W-4R unless they change their federal withholding election.

 
IRS 50% Excise Tax Reduced for Excess Accumulations (under-distributing your RMD amount)

The IRS has reduced the penalty for not taking the full amount of an RMD from a 50% penalty to a 25% penalty effective for 2023 RMDs. 

If the client corrects the amount within a reasonable period of discovering the error - usually by the tax-filing deadline including extensions - the penalty may drop as low as 10%.
  
The client can still apply for a waiver of the penalty from the IRS in certain situations. 
 

 
IRA SECURE Act Amendments -  IRS has postponed mandatory amendments to customers until December 31, 2026.
 
 
IRA regular contribution deadline for Traditional, Roth, Coverdell ESAs and Health Savings Accounts for 2025 is Wednesday, April 15, 2026
 
 
12/31/2021   IRS has released new Uniform, Joint and Single Life Expectancy Chart for use in calculating distributions effective for 2022.  

Beneficaires who are currently using the divisor from the old SLE Table can 'reset' their single life expectancy by looking up their age in the year after death from the new table and subtracting one for every year up to the current distribution year.

 
 
New Reporting Codes for Qualified Charitable Distributions      
The Consolidated Approriations Act of 2016 was regarding QCDs was made permanent in 2015. One of several provisions regarding IRA changes was the ability for 70.5 year old IRA accountholders and beneficiaries of IRAs who have attained the age of 70.5 or older to use their RMD amount plus more up to $108,000 per year for 2025 to make tax-exempt charitable contributions directly from an IRA to qualified charities. 
 
The following procedure must be followed in order for the tax exemption to take affect:beginning in the calendar year of 2015 and beyond:

1.  IRA account owners and beneficiaries of IRAs who have attained the age of 70.5 or older will instruct the financial institution to take a distribution from their IRA and have a bank check or cashier's check made payable directly to a Qualified Charity.  The financial institution can mailt the check directly or the IRA accountholder can mail it to the charity.
2.  NEW for 2025:  The financial institution will now code the distribution as either a "QCD normal distribution" if coming from an IRA owner's account (IRS code "Y 7" in box 7 of the 1099-R) or a "QCD death distribution" if coming from an Inherited IRA (IRS code "Y 4" in box 7 of the 1099-R).  The should NOT be coded as an IRS Code "F" - "Charitable Gift Annuity"
3.  The IRA accountholder will take the tax exemption on the IRA distribution line of his her tax return (line 4a and 4b of the 1040 form) and put the letters "QCD" next to 4b to take the exemption.  See the 1040 instructions for more details.

 
IRA ROLLOVERS WERE CHANGED IN 2015
Effective January 1, 2015, the new definition of the "once-per-12 month" rule applies to the IRA accountholders "aggregate" IRAs - NOT per IRA, NOT per plan type and NOT per financial institution. Once an accountholder has taken money out of ANY of their IRA plans and rolled those fund over, the accountholder cannot do any more rollovers from any of his/her IRAs for the next 12 months - starting from the date of the distribution. Any additional distributions will be ineligible for rollover during that 12 month period. This does not apply to QP to IRA rollovers or conversions from Traditional or SEPs to Roth IRAs.  Additional IRA to IRA movement has to be done as direct IRA to IRA non-reportable "transfers". 

 
August 24, 2016  IRS releases 11 exceptions when the financial institution may accept late rollovers (past 60 days) if the accountholder "self-certifies" the exception.  
The accountholder will sign a "self-certification" letter provided by the financial institution choose the exceptions that apply.  The bank will report the late rollover in box 13a of the 5498 as a "postponed contribution" - not in box 2 as a "rollover" contribution.  In box 13c of the 5498 the financial institution will use the code "SC" for "Self Certification". 
 
   

2025 Cost of Living Adjustments


Traditional and Roth IRAs

Annual Regular Contribution Limits

Contribution Year

Contribution Limit

Under Age 50

Contribution Limit

Age 50 And Over

2025

 $7000

$8000


 

 

Traditional IRA Deductibility Modified Adjusted Gross Income Limits for Qualified Employer Plan Participants are as follows for 2025:

SINGLE TAXPAYERS AS ACTIVE PARTICIPANT OF QP
TRADITIONAL IRA DEDUCTION ELIGIBILTY AND MAGI IS:

Tax Years       Full Deduction     Partial Deduction           No Deduction

2025  <$79,000            $79,000 - $89,000    >$89,000 

 

MARRIED TAXPAYERS AND BOTH ARE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS OF QP
OR, THE COVERED SPOUSE'S ELIGIBILITY IF ONLY ONE SPOUSE IS COVERED 
TRADITIONAL IRA DEDUCTION ELIGIBILTY AND JOINT MAGI IS:

Tax Years       Full Deduction      Partial Deduction         No Deduction

2025          <$126,000         $126,000 - $146,000      >$146,000

 

ONE SPOUSE IS ACTIVE PARTICIPANT AND ONE SPOUSE IS NOT COVERED:
NON-COVERED SPOUSE MAY TAKE THE DEDUCTION IF JOINT MAGI IS:

Tax Years       Full Deduction      Partial Deduction         No Deduction

2025 <$236,000           $236,000 - $246,000        >$246,000

 

Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP)
Annual Regular Contribution Limits

Contribution Year

Compensation Base

Maximum Contribution Limit

2024

0-25% of up to $345K

$69,000

2025

0-25% of up to $350K 

$70,000

 

 

Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees/Employers (SIMPLE IRA)Annual Regular Contribution Limits

Contribution Year

Annual Salary Deferral Contribution Limit
Under Age 50

Annual Salary Deferral Contribution Limit
Age 50 And Over

Additional Catch-Up
Contribution of $5,250 for Employees
Age 60-63 Total
 

2024

$16,000

$19,850

 

2025

$16,500

 $20,000

 $21,750


 

ROTH IRA CONTRIBUTION ELIGIBILITY
MODIFIED ADJUSTED INCOME PHASEOUT CHART

 

SINGLE TAXPAYERS 

  Tax Years    Full Contribution      Partial Contribution       No Contribution

    2025               <$150,000                        $150,000 - $165,000           >$165,000

 

MARRIED TAXPAYERS FILING JOINTLY

 Tax Years   Full Contribution      Partial Contribution       No Contribution


 2025             <$236,000                            $236,000 - $246,000            >$246,000

 

 HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT

Contribution Amounts 2025-2026

Year
Contribution Limit Under Age 55
Single Coverage
Contribution Limit Under Age 55
Family Coverage
Additional Contribution
Age 55 And Over


2025


$4,300

 

$8,550

 

$1000

 

2026

 
$4,400


  $8,750  


 $1000                            

 
 
 





 

 

  

 

 

 

 

High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) Definition is as follows: 

Single HDHP minimum deductible   $1,650  (2025) / $1,700 (2026)

Family HDHP minimum deductible   $3,300 (2025) / $3,400 (2026)


Out-of-Pocket Expense Limits:

Single HDHP     $  8,300   (2025),   $  8,500  (2026)

Family HDHP    $16,600   (2025),   $17,000  (2026)


Effective 2020:

*  Over-the-counter drugs without a prescription and medical Televisits are now qualified tax-free medical expenses.