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IRA Trap After Age 70 1/2IRA Trap After Age 70 1/2

Warn your clients not to contribute to their IRAs after this age.

Christopher R. Hoyt, Professor of Law

March 25, 2020

6 Min Read
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The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act eliminated the restriction that prohibited employed or self-employed taxpayers from making a tax-deductible contribution to an individual retirement account after attaining age 70½. But, this benefit comes with a catch. If a taxpayer ever makes a deductible IRA contribution during or after the year that the taxpayer attains age 70½, then for the rest of her life, the charitable gift exclusion will be reduced dollar for dollar for every dollar that was deducted over that time period.1 This lifetime recapture is much harsher than the same-year prohibition that exists when a charitable gift is made from a simplified employee pension (SEP)-IRA. The qualified charitable di...

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About the Author

Christopher R. Hoyt

Professor of Law, University of Missouri

Christopher R. Hoyt, JD is a Professor of Law at the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law where he teaches courses in the area of federal income taxation and business organizations.  Previously, he was with the law firm of Spencer, Fane, Britt & Browne in Kansas City, Missouri.  He received an undergraduate degree in economics from Northwestern University and he received dual law and accounting degrees from the University of Wisconsin.

Professor Hoyt has served as the Chair of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Charitable Organizations (Section of Trusts and Estates) and is on the editorial board of Trusts and Estates magazine. He is an ACTEC fellow, has been designated by his peers as a “Best Lawyer”, and was elected to the Estate Planning Hall of Fame by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.  He is a frequent speaker at legal and educational programs and has been quoted in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, MONEY Magazine, The New York Times and The Washington Post