Back to Tax School Homepage

2018 Contributions to individual retirement arrangements (IRAs)

In this tax subject, we will review some tax rules that relate to contributing to an IRAs. As a tax professional, you should be very aware of IRAs such how to setup an IRA and how one contributes to an IRA. Additionally, you know about the process of transferring money or property to and from an IRA and it is very important to know about taking a credit on your tax return for contributions to an IRA.

We will also look at the the penalties and additional taxes that apply when the rules aren’t followed. The worksheets and forms can help you in complying with the tax rules for IRAs.

Once you complete this 2018 contributions to individual retirement arrangements course, you will have satisfied 3 hours of continuing education which satisfies 3 hours of tax law towards your total continuing education required hours.

Tax School Home Page

Student Instructions: Follow the following 2 steps:

	Instructions - You should do all of the following (steps 1 - 2)	Links:

Step 1	Read the reading material and answer the questions on this page (scroll down). So before you go to the reading material look at steps 1 and 2 here and at the questions on this page.	Reading Material
Step 2	Take each question below (scroll down) and write a paragraph for each question as part of an essay. Include one paragraph for an introduction and a paragraph for a conclusion. Each paragraph should have at least three complete sentences. Once you have your essay prepared, click on Submit Essay to submit your work one paragraph at a time. You should not go to submit essay until your essay is prepared.	Submit Essay
		Click on Reading Material for the multiple choice exam option

Tax Interview

Question

Introduction - For the introduction part of this essay, you may want to first answer the following three questions with one paragraph each and then come back to fill in the introduction and mention something from each of the three paragraphs.

What is a defined contribution plan? What is the special rule that applies to certain plans in which it it isn't possible to deternmine if an amount will be contributed to your account? What is vested interest? What happens if you are eligible to participate in your employer's defined benefit plan and you decline to parcipate in the plan?

Which are the prohibited transactions and what happens if you engage your IRA contribution in these? Why would an individual elect to treat otherwise deductible IRA contributions as nondeductible? What alternative does the individual have other than making this election?

4

What are the conversion methods? Why would a taxpayer consider converting from one IRA to another? Recharacterizing or conversion? What do you do after you recharacterize your contribution? What are the penalties an IRA contributer must watch for? What is a rollover? What if you don't rollover on time?

Conclusion - For the conclusion part of this essay, you may mention something from the three previous paragraphs and offer an opinion. What do you think about all this?

Back to Tax School Homepage

Revised: 03/19/18

Back