Retirement brings an end to your day job, but you’ll probably still need to file a tax return every year. Since traditional IRAs and 401(k)s give you a tax break when you make contributions, you will owe taxes on your contributions and withdrawals in retirement.
A lot of people already know this, but not as many people know that the government taxes the following three sources of retirement income as well. If you rely upon any of these, you need to know the tax rules surrounding them so you can budget accordingly.
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1. Social Security benefits
The federal government taxes the Social Security benefits of some seniors if their provisional incomes are too high. Provisional income is defined as your adjusted gross income (AGI), any nontaxable interest you have, and half your annual Social Security benefit.
Individuals with provisional incomes exceeding $25,000 and married couples with provisional incomes exceeding $32,000 will owe federal taxes on a portion of their benefits. Here’s an in-depth guide to Social Security benefit taxes to help you figure out how much you might pay.
You might also owe state taxes on some of your benefits, depending on where you live. There are currently 12 states that tax Social Security, though not all seniors in these states pay taxes. Each sets its own criteria for determining who owes these taxes and how much they’ll pay. You’ll have to check with your state’s department of taxation to learn more.
2. Non-medical HSA withdrawals
Health savings accounts (HSAs) are designed for medical savings, but many use them for retirement funds as well. These accounts are similar to traditional IRAs, but they also allow for tax-free medical withdrawals at any age. So they make great homes for retirement healthcare expenses.
You can use the money to make non-medical withdrawals, but you will owe taxes on these. You could also owe a 20% early withdrawal penalty if you’re under 65 at the time, so it’s generally not a good idea to do this. Limit your withdrawals under 65 to medical expenses only, and if you plan to use the account for retirement savings, try to avoid withdrawing any HSA funds altogether until you retire, to help your money go further.
3. Roth IRA earnings if you’ve had your account for less than five years
Normally, you don’t pay taxes on Roth IRA withdrawals, because you already paid taxes on your contributions in the year you made them. But there is an exception to this rule for people who have just opened their Roth IRAs recently.
The five-year rule states that in order to withdraw Roth IRA earnings tax-free, you must own the account for at least five years first. But the five-year clock actually starts on Jan. 1 of the year you open the IRA. So if you opened a Roth IRA today, your five-year clock would begin on Jan. 1, 2022 and end on Jan. 1, 2027.
Once you’ve hit five years, you don’t have to worry about taxes, but you could still owe penalties on your withdrawals if you’re under 59 1/2. If you plan to use some of your savings before this age, you may want to consider storing some of it in a taxable brokerage account.
The above rules only apply to earnings. You may withdraw your Roth IRA contributions tax- and penalty-free at any age. But taking any money out of your Roth IRA before retirement will hurt the growth of your savings.
You may not owe any of these taxes in retirement, but if you do, be sure to budget for them in your retirement plan. Consult with a tax professional if necessary to ensure you don’t encounter any surprises at tax time.
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