Yep, first time! Used to use Chase and they always made me wait until the exact DDD date. Current definitely released it earlier which was nice.

awesome, thx. might switch before next tax season!

The rules changed with the SECURE Act, but there are exceptions. If the original owner died after their Required Beginning Date (when they had to start RMDs), beneficiaries still need to take annual RMDs AND empty the account within 10 years. If they died before their Required Beginning Date, non-spouse beneficiaries just need to empty the account within 10 years, with no annual RMDs required during that period.

This is really helpful advice, thank you! I'm definitely going to contact the IRA custodian first thing Monday to get that distribution history. One question - when you mention calculating my 2024 RMD based on the December 31, 2023 balance, how do I figure out what that balance should be if my dad potentially missed RMDs before he died? Do I use the actual balance on that date, or do I need to calculate what it would have been if he had taken proper distributions? Also, since I only got control of my portion in June 2024 when it was rolled into the Inherited IRA, should I be calculating based on the full original account balance or just my 50% share?

I've been doing this for years - contributing to a 401k through my part-time teaching job while my main job doesn't offer one. The only thing to watch for is the annual contribution limit applies across ALL your jobs combined. So track your contributions carefully if you ever change how much you're putting in.

Thanks for the insight! That's good to know about the combined contribution limit. Did you find it affected your tax situation in any unexpected ways compared to if you had contributed through your main job?

That's a really helpful explanation! I'm actually in a similar boat - my main job doesn't offer retirement benefits but I picked up a part-time remote position that has a great 401k plan with matching. One thing I'm curious about - does the employer matching from the part-time job show up anywhere special on the W-2, or does it just not factor into the AGI calculation at all? I want to make sure I'm not missing anything when I track my total retirement savings for the year.

Thanks for the TurboTax suggestion. The $200 price tag is definitely more reasonable than $850! Is there a significant learning curve the first time you use it for trust returns? I'm trying to gauge how much time I should set aside to figure this out.

The first year took me about 3 hours to get everything set up and understand how the trust taxation works. The software walks you through everything step by step, but there are some trust-specific concepts that take a bit to wrap your head around. The second and third years were much faster - maybe 45 minutes total since all the trust's basic information was already saved in the system. If your trust has straightforward income like interest or dividends, it's pretty manageable. The only tricky parts tend to be understanding when income is taxed at the trust level versus passed through to beneficiaries.

VITA programs typically only handle basic 1040s with income under certain limits. I've never seen one that handles fiduciary returns like 1041s for trusts. Are you sure about this info?

This spreadsheet idea is genius! I'm definitely going to set one up because I've been trying to keep track of everything in my head and it's getting confusing. Do you have any tips on how to estimate things like food costs when I was living at home? I have no idea what my parents spent on groceries for me specifically during those first 8 months. Also, you're totally right about the insurance costs - I'm still on my mom's health and dental plan, and I never even thought about counting those monthly premiums. That's probably a few hundred dollars right there that I wasn't considering in the support calculation.

For estimating food costs while living at home, I used a rough calculation of about $300-400 per month per person for groceries and eating out. You can also check online resources like the USDA food cost estimates by age and region - they break it down by "thrifty," "low-cost," "moderate," and "liberal" food plans. For insurance premiums, definitely ask your mom for the monthly amounts. Health insurance alone can be $200-500+ per month depending on the plan, and dental might be another $30-50. Car insurance varies a lot by location and coverage but could easily be $100-200 monthly. These "invisible" costs that parents pay really add up and often make the difference in the support test calculation. Another thing to consider - if your parents paid any of your student loans or credit card bills during the year, those count toward their support contribution too. It's worth going through bank statements if you can to make sure you're capturing everything accurately.

This is really helpful, especially the point about student loans counting as support I provided to myself! I hadn't thought about that distinction. I did take out loans for my final semester, so that might actually change the calculation significantly. Quick question about the documentation - what kind of records should I be keeping? Just receipts and bank statements, or is there a specific format the IRS prefers? I want to make sure I'm prepared if there are ever any questions down the line. And you're absolutely right about running the numbers both ways. My mom is definitely in a higher tax bracket than I am right now, so the family might save more money overall if she claims me as a dependent for 2024, even though I feel independent now. Thanks for the practical perspective!

For documentation, you don't need a specific IRS format, but I'd recommend keeping a simple spreadsheet or document that shows your support calculation with backup records. Save things like: - Bank statements showing payments you made vs. parents made - Student loan documents showing disbursement amounts and dates - Receipts for major expenses (rent, tuition, medical bills) - Insurance premium statements - Any written agreements about who pays what The key is being able to reconstruct your reasoning if questioned. A simple summary showing "Total support needed: $X, Amount I provided: $Y, Amount parents provided: $Z" with supporting documents is usually sufficient. One more tip - if the numbers are really close to 50/50, consider whether there are any legitimate expenses you might have missed on either side. Sometimes small items like textbooks, work clothes, or medical copays can tip the balance. But obviously only count actual, legitimate expenses! And yes, definitely run those tax scenarios both ways. I've seen families save $1000+ by having the parent claim the dependent exemption instead of the student filing independently, especially when the parent qualifies for education credits or other benefits.