### WordPress - Web publishing software
Copyright 2011-2019 by the contributors
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
This program incorporates work covered by the following copyright and
permission notices:
b2 is (c) 2001, 2002 Michel Valdrighi - m@tidakada.com -
http://tidakada.com
Wherever third party code has been used, credit has been given in the code's
comments.
b2 is released under the GPL
and
WordPress - Web publishing software
Copyright 2003-2010 by the contributors
WordPress is released under the GPL
---
### GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
Version 2, June 1991
Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
### Preamble
The licenses for most software are designed to take away your freedom
to share and change it. By contrast, the GNU General Public License is
intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free
software--to make sure the software is free for all its users. This
General Public License applies to most of the Free Software
Foundation's software and to any other program whose authors commit to
using it. (Some other Free Software Foundation software is covered by
the GNU Lesser General Public License instead.) You can apply it to
your programs, too.
When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not
price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you
have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for
this service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it
if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it
in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.
To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid
anyone to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights.
These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if
you distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it.
For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether
gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that
you have. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the
source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their
rights.
We protect your rights with two steps: (1) copyright the software, and
(2) offer you this license which gives you legal permission to copy,
distribute and/or modify the software.
Also, for each author's protection and ours, we want to make certain
that everyone understands that there is no warranty for this free
software. If the software is modified by someone else and passed on,
we want its recipients to know that what they have is not the
original, so that any problems introduced by others will not reflect
on the original authors' reputations.
Finally, any free program is threatened constantly by software
patents. We wish to avoid the danger that redistributors of a free
program will individually obtain patent licenses, in effect making the
program proprietary. To prevent this, we have made it clear that any
patent must be licensed for everyone's free use or not licensed at
all.
The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and
modification follow.
### TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
**0.** This License applies to any program or other work which
contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it may be
distributed under the terms of this General Public License. The
"Program", below, refers to any such program or work, and a "work
based on the Program" means either the Program or any derivative work
under copyright law: that is to say, a work containing the Program or
a portion of it, either verbatim or with modifications and/or
translated into another language. (Hereinafter, translation is
included without limitation in the term "modification".) Each licensee
is addressed as "you".
Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are not
covered by this License; they are outside its scope. The act of
running the Program is not restricted, and the output from the Program
is covered only if its contents constitute a work based on the Program
(independent of having been made by running the Program). Whether that
is true depends on what the Program does.
**1.** You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's
source code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you
conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate
copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the
notices that refer to this License and to the absence of any warranty;
and give any other recipients of the Program a copy of this License
along with the Program.
You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and
you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a
fee.
**2.** You may modify your copy or copies of the Program or any
portion of it, thus forming a work based on the Program, and copy and
distribute such modifications or work under the terms of Section 1
above, provided that you also meet all of these conditions:
**a)** You must cause the modified files to carry prominent notices
stating that you changed the files and the date of any change.
**b)** You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in
whole or in part contains or is derived from the Program or any part
thereof, to be licensed as a whole at no charge to all third parties
under the terms of this License.
**c)** If the modified program normally reads commands interactively
when run, you must cause it, when started running for such interactive
use in the most ordinary way, to print or display an announcement
including an appropriate copyright notice and a notice that there is
no warranty (or else, saying that you provide a warranty) and that
users may redistribute the program under these conditions, and telling
the user how to view a copy of this License. (Exception: if the
Program itself is interactive but does not normally print such an
announcement, your work based on the Program is not required to print
an announcement.)
These requirements apply to the modified work as a whole. If
identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Program,
and can be reasonably considered independent and separate works in
themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not apply to those
sections when you distribute them as separate works. But when you
distribute the same sections as part of a whole which is a work based
on the Program, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of
this License, whose permissions for other licensees extend to the
entire whole, and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote
it.
Thus, it is not the intent of this section to claim rights or contest
your rights to work written entirely by you; rather, the intent is to
exercise the right to control the distribution of derivative or
collective works based on the Program.
In addition, mere aggregation of another work not based on the Program
with the Program (or with a work based on the Program) on a volume of
a storage or distribution medium does not bring the other work under
the scope of this License.
**3.** You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it,
under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of
Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:
**a)** Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable
source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections 1
and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,
**b)** Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three
years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your cost of
physically performing source distribution, a complete machine-readable
copy of the corresponding source code, to be distributed under the
terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for
software interchange; or,
**c)** Accompany it with the information you received as to the offer
to distribute corresponding source code. (This alternative is allowed
only for noncommercial distribution and only if you received the
program in object code or executable form with such an offer, in
accord with Subsection b above.)
The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for
making modifications to it. For an executable work, complete source
code means all the source code for all modules it contains, plus any
associated interface definition files, plus the scripts used to
control compilation and installation of the executable. However, as a
special exception, the source code distributed need not include
anything that is normally distributed (in either source or binary
form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the
operating system on which the executable runs, unless that component
itself accompanies the executable.
If distribution of executable or object code is made by offering
access to copy from a designated place, then offering equivalent
access to copy the source code from the same place counts as
distribution of the source code, even though third parties are not
compelled to copy the source along with the object code.
**4.** You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Program
except as expressly provided under this License. Any attempt otherwise
to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Program is void, and
will automatically terminate your rights under this License. However,
parties who have received copies, or rights, from you under this
License will not have their licenses terminated so long as such
parties remain in full compliance.
**5.** You are not required to accept this License, since you have not
signed it. However, nothing else grants you permission to modify or
distribute the Program or its derivative works. These actions are
prohibited by law if you do not accept this License. Therefore, by
modifying or distributing the Program (or any work based on the
Program), you indicate your acceptance of this License to do so, and
all its terms and conditions for copying, distributing or modifying
the Program or works based on it.
**6.** Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on
the Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the
original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to
these terms and conditions. You may not impose any further
restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein.
You are not responsible for enforcing compliance by third parties to
this License.
**7.** If, as a consequence of a court judgment or allegation of
patent infringement or for any other reason (not limited to patent
issues), conditions are imposed on you (whether by court order,
agreement or otherwise) that contradict the conditions of this
License, they do not excuse you from the conditions of this License.
If you cannot distribute so as to satisfy simultaneously your
obligations under this License and any other pertinent obligations,
then as a consequence you may not distribute the Program at all. For
example, if a patent license would not permit royalty-free
redistribution of the Program by all those who receive copies directly
or indirectly through you, then the only way you could satisfy both it
and this License would be to refrain entirely from distribution of the
Program.
If any portion of this section is held invalid or unenforceable under
any particular circumstance, the balance of the section is intended to
apply and the section as a whole is intended to apply in other
circumstances.
It is not the purpose of this section to induce you to infringe any
patents or other property right claims or to contest validity of any
such claims; this section has the sole purpose of protecting the
integrity of the free software distribution system, which is
implemented by public license practices. Many people have made
generous contributions to the wide range of software distributed
through that system in reliance on consistent application of that
system; it is up to the author/donor to decide if he or she is willing
to distribute software through any other system and a licensee cannot
impose that choice.
This section is intended to make thoroughly clear what is believed to
be a consequence of the rest of this License.
**8.** If the distribution and/or use of the Program is restricted in
certain countries either by patents or by copyrighted interfaces, the
original copyright holder who places the Program under this License
may add an explicit geographical distribution limitation excluding
those countries, so that distribution is permitted only in or among
countries not thus excluded. In such case, this License incorporates
the limitation as if written in the body of this License.
**9.** The Free Software Foundation may publish revised and/or new
versions of the General Public License from time to time. Such new
versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may
differ in detail to address new problems or concerns.
Each version is given a distinguishing version number. If the Program
specifies a version number of this License which applies to it and
"any later version", you have the option of following the terms and
conditions either of that version or of any later version published by
the Free Software Foundation. If the Program does not specify a
version number of this License, you may choose any version ever
published by the Free Software Foundation.
**10.** If you wish to incorporate parts of the Program into other
free programs whose distribution conditions are different, write to
the author to ask for permission. For software which is copyrighted by
the Free Software Foundation, write to the Free Software Foundation;
we sometimes make exceptions for this. Our decision will be guided by
the two goals of preserving the free status of all derivatives of our
free software and of promoting the sharing and reuse of software
generally.
**NO WARRANTY**
**11.** BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO
WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR
OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY
KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE
PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME
THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
**12.** IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN
WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY
AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU
FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE
PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING
RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A
FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAMS), EVEN IF
SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGES.
### END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS
### How to Apply These Terms to Your New Programs
If you develop a new program, and you want it to be of the greatest
possible use to the public, the best way to achieve this is to make it
free software which everyone can redistribute and change under these
terms.
To do so, attach the following notices to the program. It is safest to
attach them to the start of each source file to most effectively
convey the exclusion of warranty; and each file should have at least
the "copyright" line and a pointer to where the full notice is found.
one line to give the program's name and an idea of what it does.
Copyright (C) yyyy name of author
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
Also add information on how to contact you by electronic and paper
mail.
If the program is interactive, make it output a short notice like this
when it starts in an interactive mode:
Gnomovision version 69, Copyright (C) year name of author
Gnomovision comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details
type `show w'. This is free software, and you are welcome
to redistribute it under certain conditions; type `show c'
for details.
The hypothetical commands \`show w' and \`show c' should show the
appropriate parts of the General Public License. Of course, the
commands you use may be called something other than \`show w' and
\`show c'; they could even be mouse-clicks or menu items--whatever
suits your program.
You should also get your employer (if you work as a programmer) or
your school, if any, to sign a "copyright disclaimer" for the program,
if necessary. Here is a sample; alter the names:
Yoyodyne, Inc., hereby disclaims all copyright
interest in the program `Gnomovision'
(which makes passes at compilers) written
by James Hacker.
signature of Ty Coon, 1 April 1989
Ty Coon, President of Vice
This General Public License does not permit incorporating your program
into proprietary programs. If your program is a subroutine library,
you may consider it more useful to permit linking proprietary
applications with the library. If this is what you want to do, use the
[GNU Lesser General Public
License](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html) instead of this
License.
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), 401(k)s and other workplace plans can help you build wealth for the future while enjoying some tax benefits.
There’s just one important thing you need to plan for: required minimum distributions (RMDs). The IRS requires you to begin taking distributions from certain retirement accounts in the year you turn 73.
If not properly planned for, these distributions could take a tax toll on your retirement nest egg. Applying some smart RMD strategies could help reduce distributions and potentially lower your tax bill.
Consulting a fiduciary financial advisor can be a great first step to factoring RMDs, and the potential tax repercussions, into your retirement plan. That’s why we created a free tool to help match you with up to three financial advisors.
Click here to take our quick retirement quiz and get matched with vetted advisors in just a few minutes, each obligated to work in your best interest.
Research suggests people who work with a financial advisor feel more at ease about their finances and could end up with about 15% more money to spend in retirement.1
A 2022 Northwestern Mutual study found that 62% of U.S. adults admit their financial planning needs improvement. However, only 35% of Americans work with a financial advisor.2
What Are RMDs?
RMDs are amounts you’re obligated to withdraw from certain tax-advantaged retirement plans, including:
Roth IRAs don’t have RMDs, so you can leave money in those accounts as long as you live. While Roth IRAs do not have RMDs for the original account holder, beneficiaries who inherit a Roth account may be subject to RMDs.
When Do RMDs Kick In?
Generally, RMDs begin at age 72. More specifically, the IRS says you must start taking them by your required begin date (RBD). The required begin date is April 1 of the year following the year in which you turn 72. So if you turn 72 on Oct. 5, then your RMDs must begin starting on April 1 of the next calendar year.
The amount you’re required to withdraw is based on your account balance and life expectancy (according to IRS tables). Withdrawals are taxed at your ordinary income tax rate. Failing to take RMDs on schedule can result in a 50% tax penalty.
6 Strategies to Reduce RMD Taxes
Taking RMDs can be problematic from a tax perspective. If you have large balances in your IRAs or workplace retirement accounts, taking RMDs could inflate your tax bill. That’s where it can be helpful to have a few RMD strategies in your back pocket to try and reduce what you owe.
Here are six common ways to potentially shrink your RMDs in order to minimize taxes:
1. Draw Down Your Account Early
Once you turn 59 ½, you can begin taking money from retirement accounts without a tax penalty. Taking larger distributions in the early years of your retirement can reduce your overall account balance, lowering your RMDs later. This option could make sense if you expect to be in a lower tax bracket when you retire.
Drawing down your retirement accounts before age 72 can offer another benefit. You may be able to delay taking Social Security benefits. The longer you delay benefits beyond your full retirement age, the more your benefit amount increases. If you can wait until age 70, for example, you’ll receive 132% of your benefit amount.
2. Consider a Roth IRA Conversion
Roth IRAs offer the benefit of 100% tax-free qualified withdrawals – and they don’t have RMDs. If you’d like to avoid RMDs, you could convert your traditional retirement funds to a Roth account. You’ll have to pay tax on the conversion in the year it occurs. But it may be worth it to take a one-time tax bill hit in order to avoid RMDs and withdraw remaining retirement funds tax-free.
While converting traditional retirement funds to a Roth account may be an option to consider for avoiding RMDs, it is not guaranteed to be worth it for everyone. Tax implications should be carefully considered and consulted with a tax professional. A financial advisor could help determine if this could be a viable strategy for you. This free quiz can match you with up to three advisors who serve your area.
3. Work Longer
If you have some of your retirement funds in your current employer’s 401(k), you might consider working longer to avoid RMDs. As long as you’re still working in some capacity, you’re not required to take minimum distributions from a workplace plan where you’re still employed.
That exception doesn’t apply to retirement accounts you had with previous employers. You won’t get a pass on IRA RMDs either. But continuing to work could help to reduce the total amount of RMDs you need to take once you turn 72. And again, you can delay Social Security benefits as well.
4. Donate to Charity
One of the most popular RMD strategies for reducing taxes involves donating the amount to charity. The IRS allows you to donate up to $100,000 a year from an IRA without having to pay income tax. The money you withdraw will still count toward your RMD so you don’t have to worry about a 50% tax penalty for failing to take distributions.
There are a few rules for this strategy:
You can only donate up to $100,000 to a qualified charity
Your IRA custodian must arrange for the transfer of funds to an eligible charity
You’re not allowed to claim the donation as a charitable deduction your taxes
5. Consider a Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract
A qualified longevity annuity contract (QLAC) is a type of deferred annuity contract. You can use your retirement funds to purchase the annuity, then receive payments back at a later date. Payments are required beginning at age 85 and any money you put into the annuity does not factor into your RMD calculations.
However, you can only put so much money into a QLAC – up to $200,000. While you can defer taking payments until age 85, you can’t avoid them indefinitely.
6. Check Your Beneficiaries
If you’re at least 10 years older than your spouse and name them as the sole beneficiary of your retirement account, you can use the IRS Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table to calculate RMDs.
This strategy allows you to use your spouse’s longer life expectancy to determine how much to withdraw, which can lower the amount. Of course, if your spouse is closer to your own age or you have multiple beneficiaries, you wouldn’t be able to use this RMD strategy.
Where to Look for RMD Advice
Applying RMD strategies can be a simple way to reduce what you owe in taxes during retirement. You can use just one strategy or apply several in order to bring down your tax bill. While these strategies can help reduce RMDs, there’s no way to avoid RMDs indefinitely (unless you have a Roth IRA).
Consulting a fiduciary financial advisor could help you determine a plan that factors RMD taxes into your overall retirement goals. Fiduciaries are obligated by law to act in your best interest as they manage your assets or money, and any potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed.
Yet knowing how to find a vetted fiduciary advisor is, for many, the most confusing task of all. Common Google searches related to the topic reveal a desperate search for direction. “Fiduciary financial advisors near me,” “best fiduciary financial advisor,” and “financial investment advisors near me” are searched for hundreds of times per day.
Finding a fiduciary shouldn’t be that hard. Thankfully, now it isn’t.
Our free matching quiz helps Americans get matched with up to three fiduciary advisors who serve their area so they can compare and decide which advisor to work with. All advisors on the matching platform have been rigorously vetted through our proprietary due diligence process.
The quiz takes just a few minutes, and in many cases, you can be connected instantly with an advisor to interview.
Sources:
“Journal of Retirement Study Winter” (2020). The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of your future results. Please follow the link to see the methodologies employed in the Journal of Retirement study.