inherited Roth

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@ElNich wrote:

Thanks for the reply!  Since there are a few "ifs" in your answer, the details are  1) I'm inheriting from my dad.  2) It will be my own.   3) The IRA custodian is transferring it.      But since I'm not a spouse, that's the deal breaker?  I cannot contribute?  Thanks.

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If you inherited the IRA in 2019, you can't make any contributions.  You have two options for withdrawing the money.  a) withdraw it all within 5 years.  b) stretch it out over your entire lifetime. You will be required to take an RMD (required minimum distribution) each year, which is determined by your age, life expectancy, and the amount of the IRA, but you preserve the balance.  Once you hit age 59-1/2, you can take more if you want.  You can't roll it over or do a trustee to trustee transfer to put it in your own name and escape these rules.  It will always be an inherited IRA treated by these special rules.

If you inherited the IRA after Dec 31, 2019, the SECURE act changed the rules.  You must withdraw all the money by the end of 10 years, but you are not subject to RMDs in the mean time.  You still can't roll it over to your name or make contributions.  

If you are eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA and aren't maxed out yet, you can withdraw money from the inherited IRA and deposit it in your own IRA, but these are treated as two separate transactions each according to their usual rules, as if you were depositing money from your income or other sources. 

Because this is an inherited Roth IRA, the withdrawals are not subject to income tax or the 10% early withdrawal penalty even if you are under age 59-1/2. 

@dmertz  did I miss anything here?