RMD Planning Spreadsheet?

[OldShooter]

We will be in RMD-land next year and forced to take distributions substantially higher than we have been taking to-date. Like close to double. Not a bad problem to have, I guess, but I am starting to stew about tax planning and estimated taxes. I think we will be able to use the IRS safe harbor rules to hold down our estimated tax payments but we also have other income, SS, etc. to stir into the stew.

So ... does anyone know of a site or spreadsheet that will support this kind of planning. Inputs would be assets subject to RMD, other income, projected asset growth, taxable account balances, projected spending, etc. Outputs would be estimated tax payments, account balances going forward, etc.

I could make a spreadsheet to do all this but the prospect does not fill me with joy. Hence my question.

 

[meierlde]

We will be in RMD-land next year and forced to take distributions substantially higher than we have been taking to-date. Like close to double. Not a bad problem to have, I guess, but I am starting to stew about tax planning and estimated taxes. I think we will be able to use the IRS safe harbor rules to hold down our estimated tax payments but we also have other income, SS, etc. to stir into the stew.

So ... does anyone know of a site or spreadsheet that will support this kind of planning. Inputs would be assets subject to RMD, other income, projected asset growth, taxable account balances, projected spending, etc. Outputs would be estimated tax payments, account balances going forward, etc.

I could make a spreadsheet to do all this but the prospect does not fill me with joy. Hence my question.

Actually you can just make your own, get the rmd tables from the IRS Pub 590 b and it tells you how to make the calculation.
Basically take the balance in all times the percentage for the age, that gives you the distribution for that year, subtract that from the balance, multiply that amount by an estimated growth for the year, giving you the next years total and repeat the above. Beyond that you could add additional columns for taxable accounts etc. Note that you can have witholding on RMDs which is actually better than estimated payments as the withholding makes it less likley to have a insufficient payments penalty.
The basic rmd part is simple the rest you talk about might just be a tax guesstimate spreadsheet that takes the rmd results from its own page.

the following columns a age, b balance at the beginning of the year, c rmd d percentage withdrawal e estimated gain for the year (making the assumption the RMD is taken at the beginning of the year)
So you take the value in column be for the age in question times the value in d (expressing d as a decimal not a percent i.e, 4% is .04 etc) so b*d gives you the rmd, and the next years balance is (b-d)*e (expressed as a decimal again 4% gain here is 1.04) Then repeat for the next year (the required percentage increases as you get older) etc.

 

[aja8888]

I just crank out a trial tax return based on ball park taxable income estimates and then send in equal quarterly payments as required. I double check the estimated tax return around November and if I have to change the last estimated payment, I do that before 1/15.

Never had a problem or issue with the IRS.

 

[pb4uski]

+1 do a pro forma tax return for 2018 using your 2016/2017 income and deduction information adjusted for any expected changes and add to it your projected RMD based on your projected end of year 2017 IRA balances.

You can use Turbotax or Taxcaster or some similar software.

That addresses 2018 sensibly. If you want to do longer-term projections then a spreadsheet is a good possibility.

i-orp might also work.

 

[Souschef]

I set up an RMD spreadsheet using the IRS numbers. I have calculations going forward for a number of years, and just have to plug in the end of year values.
This tells me what my RMD is for the next year. I then calculate my QCD, how much to our children , and how much to me to cover the Estimated tax.
If you are familiar with Excel, you copy in the IRS guidelines and divide your year end number by each one

 

[nwsteve]

Or, you can use Fido's Retirement Income Planner which provides a spreadsheet that includes est RMDs. Of course, you have to input or link your IRA data.