Corrections Policy

September 13, 2026 · Retirement contribution, conversion and HSA guidance · Significant

• Contribution limits: Corrected the 2026 Saver's Credit income bands and separated the calculated credit from the nonrefundable amount a filer can use. Replaced the excess-contribution earnings formula with adjusted opening and closing balances, including money moving in or out. The worked example now yields $75 of earnings on a $400 return. Sources: IRS Notice 2025-67, Form 8880 and Publication 590-A, Worksheet 1-4.
• Roth contributions and taxable income: Corrected the 2026 single-filer Saver's Credit ceiling to $40,250, inclusive, under IRS Notice 2025-67. The example now states the eligibility, distribution and tax-liability conditions; the 2026 credit reference and retirement-contribution transition are clarified.
• Roth IRA calculator: The 6% input is a nominal return, not an after-inflation return. The explanation and comparison row now match the existing display and contribution-escalation controls. At the defaults, $835,761 in future dollars equals $352,165 in today's dollars. Corrected Saver's Match indexing to begin after 2027; its exact first-year bands are already published by the IRS. The calculation engine is unchanged.
• Excess-contribution FAQ: Removed an assumed 2027 IRA limit from the carryforward example and corrected its Roth-specific statutory reference. Replaced the categorical no-assessment-deadline claim with the filing-dependent rules of IRC section 6501(l)(4). Also removed the repealed 10% tax on earnings returned in a timely correction and an unsupported general waiver for custodian mistakes. Sources: SECURE 2.0 sections 313 and 333; IRS Form 5329 instructions, Parts I, IV and IX.
• 401(k)-to-Roth rollover guide: Replaced a conversion example that assumed 2027 tax brackets and compared different converted amounts. The new illustration compares the same $100,000 under explicitly assumed rates. It does not estimate an actual tax return or promise that spreading conversions saves tax.
• Trump Accounts: A seed-eligible child born in 2025 cannot turn 18 before 2043. Replaced the example's 2027 deduction and bracket assumptions with a clearly hypothetical future conversion. Separated pre-deduction income from taxable income and the conversion amount from its tax bill. Clarified that kiddie-tax rules can apply whether or not the child is claimed as a dependent. Sources: IRS Notice 2025-68 and Form 8615 instructions.
• Saver's Match: The 2027 transition replaces the Saver's Credit for retirement contributions, not every possible use of the credit. Eligible ABLE contributions may still qualify for the Credit, but not the Match. Removed the blanket repeal and one-regime-per-year statements and aligned the summaries with the IRS overview. Earlier correction and implementation notes remain below.
• Roth IRA vs. HSA: Added the effective-2026 rule treating qualifying individual-market bronze and catastrophic coverage as HDHPs even without the ordinary deductible and out-of-pocket limits. Kept the off-Exchange conditions and other eligibility requirements explicit, and aligned the comparison and FAQ summaries. Source: IRS Notice 2026-05, Q&As 4-8. The dated 2026 contribution amounts are unchanged.

Primary references: 2026 retirement limits; Saver's Match; Publication 590-A; Form 5329 instructions; IRC section 6501; 2026 HSA eligibility guidance; Notice 2025-68; Form 8615 instructions.

September 13, 2026 · State-guide summaries

Michigan · Significant: The report card implied that a conversion could be taxed only before age 59½. It now explains the remaining retirement-subtraction cap and other income using it. Related guide cards were qualified; the detailed dollar examples are unchanged. Article history; Michigan Treasury.

Florida · Significant: Removed an unsupported nationwide creditor-protection ranking from the headline, report card and FAQ summary. The replacement describes the statutory protection with its conditions and exceptions. Article history; Florida Statutes §222.21.

Ohio · Minor: Removed the inaccurate claim that Ohio was the first guide in this series with statutory inherited-IRA protection. The report card retains the applicable statute and links the issue to its detailed explanation. Ohio guide; Ohio Revised Code §2329.66.

Workbook summaries: The Michigan, Florida and Ohio downloads carry the same corrections. Michigan’s comparison also incorrectly labeled Pennsylvania conversions as exempt only after age 59½ and Illinois conversions as taxed at the ordinary state rate. The labels now reflect Pennsylvania’s completed-conversion treatment and Illinois’s conversion subtraction. Other comparison cells retain their original research dates; the matrix is not a set of identical-scenario tax estimates. Formula inputs and detailed numeric examples are unchanged. Sources: Pennsylvania DOR and Illinois DOR.

September 12, 2026 · Significant

Affected article: 529 to Roth IRA Conversion.

What was wrong: Examples used an oversized one-year transfer, inconsistent totals and earnings from recent contributions. Other wording implied a large balance could all move over time, used calendar-year shortcuts, presented unsupported IRS timing guidance and a FIFO method, treated a gift-tax election as separate deposits, and incorrectly imposed Illinois recapture. The reporting section also misstated how to handle the transfer.

Corrected to: Worked examples separately test age-eligible funds, available annual IRA room and the remaining $35,000 lifetime allowance. The lookback excludes recent contributions and their earnings and uses the distribution date. Account-history questions are identified as unresolved. Gift-allocation years are distinguished from actual deposits. Illinois recognizes qualifying transfers from August 2, 2024; the September 9 Colorado correction is preserved. Reporting now distinguishes Form 1099-Q box 4b, Form 5498 box 10 and separate IRA activity that may require Form 8606. The alternatives also clarify that a scholarship exception can remove the additional 10% federal tax without making earnings tax-free.

Sources: IRC §529(c)(2)(B) and (c)(3)(E); IRC §408A(c); IRS Publication 590-A; Publication 970, chapter 7; Notice 2025-67; Form 1099-Q instructions; Form 5498 instructions; Bright Start plan description, printed page 49. Sources checked September 12, 2026.

September 9, 2026 · Significant

Affected article: 529 to Roth IRA Conversion.

An earlier comparison incorrectly limited Colorado recapture to current-year 529 deductions. A federally qualifying 529-to-Roth rollover can also trigger recapture of deductions from earlier years. The correction is limited to this Colorado statement; the contribution and deduction history must be checked to determine the amount.

Source: CollegeInvest Direct Portfolio disclosure, pages 46 and 54.

September 9, 2026 · Significant

Affected tools: Conversion Cost Calculator and Conversion Planner.

Colorado was estimated using a flat 4.4% rate. That shortcut did not calculate the shared retirement-income allowance or income-triggered changes to Social Security subtractions and federal-deduction add-backs. Colorado now reads Not modeled; modeled totals exclude its income tax and state-sensitive comparisons are withheld. See the Colorado examples and limits.

Primary sources: C.R.S. §39-22-104(1.7)(c), (2), 2026 edition, printed p.691; Rule 39-22-104(4)(f)(2)(a)(i), printed p.16; C.R.S. §39-22-104(4)(f)(III)(A), 2026 edition, printed p.698; C.R.S. §39-22-104(3)(p.7)(I), 2026 edition, printed p.694.

September 8, 2026 · Significant

Affected tools: Conversion Cost Calculator and Conversion Planner.

Massachusetts was estimated using a flat 9% rate. That shortcut did not calculate the separate Massachusetts IRA cost recovery or the income above the 4% surtax threshold. Massachusetts now reads Not modeled; modeled totals exclude its income tax and state-sensitive recommendations are withheld. See the separate IRA records and ordinary tax and surtax explanation.

Primary sources: Massachusetts IRA cost recovery; Massachusetts ordinary income-tax rate; 2026 surtax threshold.

September 8, 2026 · Significant

Affected page: Roth IRA Rules.

The earlier Massachusetts sentence used an unsupported comparative characterization. It now describes the statute's IRA exemption, deposit limitation, rollover/transfer tracing and specified court-order exceptions. See the Massachusetts protection section and G.L. c. 235, §34A.

September 8, 2026 · Significant

Affected pages: Roth IRA vs. 401(k), Can I Contribute? and Conversion Planner.

What was wrong: The comparison's summaries overstated pre-tax matching and creditor protection, and its Roth-match explanation could imply that an election bypassed vesting. The checker's guide assigned qualifying surviving spouses to the wrong income group. The planner's labels incorrectly combined workplace plans with the IRA pro-rata pool and presented age 73 as the universal RMD age; its limitations failed to say that no RMDs were modeled during the plan.

Corrected to: The comparison explains the optional, fully vested Roth match and allocation-year income, ERISA coverage, and the IRA bankruptcy cap's specified rollover exclusion. The checker explanation now agrees with its existing joint-filer calculation for qualifying surviving spouses. The planner identifies IRA-only pro-rata aggregation, its fully taxable-conversion assumption, birth-year-dependent RMD ages, and the omission of required withdrawals from both modeled paths at every age. No RMD calculation was added.

Primary sources: IRS Notice 2024-2, section L; IRS Notice 2025-67; 11 U.S.C. §522(n); 29 CFR §2510.3-3; Form 8606 instructions; 26 CFR §1.401(a)(9)-2; IRS Publication 590-A, conversions.

September 8, 2026 · Significant

Affected page: Roth IRA vs. Brokerage Account.

What was wrong: The page said conversion withdrawals faced a 10% penalty before the five-year mark or before age 59½, and repeatedly suggested only earnings had early-withdrawal restrictions. This overstated the age test and omitted recent taxable conversions from the access comparison.

Corrected to: Regular contributions come out first. Converted money follows in year order, taxable-at-conversion amounts first within each year. The 10% conversion recapture generally applies to that taxable portion withdrawn inside its own five-tax-year window unless an exception applies, including age 59½. Earnings have a separate qualified-distribution test. We aligned the introduction, comparison table, withdrawal section and FAQs, and removed an incorrect brokerage basis-first shortcut.

Primary sources: IRS Publication 590-B, Roth IRA distributions; IRC §408A(d); IRS Publication 550, investment gains and losses.

September 8, 2026 · Significant

Affected page: 2026 Roth IRA Contribution Limits.

What was wrong: The page grouped Roth, Traditional and SEP IRAs under one contribution ceiling without distinguishing employer SEP deposits from regular personal IRA contributions.

Corrected to: The $7,500 regular personal limit ($8,600 at age 50 or older by year-end) is shared across Traditional and Roth IRAs. Employer SEP contributions have a separate limit. A regular personal contribution accepted by a SEP-IRA does use the shared personal limit. Compensation and Roth eligibility still matter; the main text and FAQ now explain the distinction.

Primary sources: IRS SEP contribution FAQs; IRS 2026 limit announcement.

September 7, 2026 · Significant

Affected tools: Conversion Cost Calculator and Conversion Planner.

Maryland was estimated using a flat 5.75% rate. That shortcut did not account for current state brackets, county income tax or income-triggered changes. Maryland now reads Not modeled; modeled totals exclude its state and county tax, and state-sensitive recommendations are withheld. See the Maryland guide for source-linked examples and limits.

Primary sources: Maryland Tax-General §10-105; §10-218; Comptroller state and local rates.

2026-09-04 · Significant

Affected page: The Roth IRA in North Carolina and its downloadable data and workbook.

What was wrong: The guide described loss of Bailey treatment after an IRA rollover as permanent while also describing the exemption for distributions from a qualifying receiving account. It incorrectly said PD-14-1 did not address designated Roth accounts within a plan. Other wording implied withheld money could never reach the Roth and that every no-withholding election had to be renewed for each conversion.

Corrected to: A distribution from an IRA does not receive Bailey treatment simply because the money once came from a qualifying plan. A later distribution from a qualifying receiving Bailey account is a different case; rollover eligibility, plan acceptance, vesting and special program rules still matter. PD-14-1 expressly includes designated Roth accounts. Timely replacement of withholding in an eligible rollover can complete the full amount moved; any early-distribution penalty concerns the taxable amount left outside, subject to exceptions. NC-4P's distribution-by-distribution sentence concerns an election to withhold, not a universal renewal requirement for no withholding.

Downloads: The corrected September 4 workbook and CSV replace the active download links. The original August 8 files remain available in the article's history. The guide's description now matches the dataset's 75 records.

Primary sources: NCDOR PD-14-1; NCDOR Bailey guidance; Form NC-4P; IRS Topic 413.

2026-09-04 · Significant

Affected tools: Withdrawal Explainer; Fee Drag Calculator; Growth Projection; Asset Location Architect; Roth vs Traditional.

Withdrawal categories and limits: Conversion principal could be labeled penalty-free while a penalty was also shown; some withdrawals exceeded the account balance, and exceptions were treated as unlimited waivers. Results now separate income-taxable amounts from penalty-only principal and fully tax-free amounts, apply taxable-first ordering within each conversion year, cap the withdrawal at the available balance and stop when records or exception limits need review. The worked example and remaining-basis instructions are corrected.

Fees and growth: The fee calculator treated an annual return as a nominal rate compounded monthly, despite describing it as an effective annual return. The monthly rate now matches the stated annual assumption, and fee definitions no longer count a fund's 12b-1 fee twice. Growth simulations now honor the selected random seed and hide stale results after assumptions change. Contribution timing, inflation, catch-up assumptions and the limits of hypothetical simulations are stated explicitly.

Account comparisons: The asset-location tool overstated a simplified placement rule as after-tax optimization and hid cases where it increased estimated tax. It now identifies the rule as a heuristic, shows signed differences and distinguishes estimated annual tax from a limited reinvestment illustration. The Roth-versus-Traditional tool included controls that did not affect the calculation; these were removed. Its required-distribution calculation now uses the prior year-end balance, and its comparison and break-even results use consistent assumptions.

Primary references: IRS Publication 590-B for withdrawal ordering and required distributions; IRS Publication 550 for taxable investment income; SEC fund-fee guidance. Mathematical conventions and model limits are explained on each tool; projections are not forecasts.

2026-09-04 · Minor

Affected pages: Trump Accounts; the children's-account comparison in TrumpIRA.gov.

Corrected to: Contributions have been open since July 4, 2026. A remaining at-a-glance item and comparison rows still described that date as a future opening. The separate January 2027 timetable for the adult TrumpIRA.gov portal is unchanged.

Primary source: Treasury's July 4, 2026 launch announcement.

2026-09-03 · Significant

Affected pages: Excess Contribution Remediation; Do You Report a Roth IRA on Your Taxes?

What was wrong: The filing-deadline FAQ and matching structured data said an owner under age 59½ owed the 10% additional tax on positive earnings returned with a timely excess-contribution correction. Other passages treated October 15 as a universal deadline, identified Form 5329 Part III instead of Part IV for a Roth IRA excess, and described recharacterization too broadly as a post-deadline option.

Corrected to: Positive net income attributable to the excess remains taxable for the contribution year, but SECURE 2.0 §333 removed the 10% additional tax from a timely corrective IRA distribution. Form 5329 Part IV reports a Roth excess; current instructions use Part I with exception code 21 to record the under-59½ exception without creating tax. The correction and recharacterization windows now follow the return due date, including extensions, with the limited automatic-extension procedure described separately.

Primary sources: IRS Publication 590-A; Instructions for Form 5329; Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498; SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 §333.

2026-08-31 · Significant

Affected page: Roth IRA Early Withdrawal Penalties

What was wrong: A $50,000 withdrawal with $70,000 of remaining regular-contribution basis was incorrectly treated as reaching $30,000 of earnings. Other passages described penalties as applying only to earnings, made age 59½ a requirement for every qualified distribution, and misstated first-home, medical and newer exception conditions.

Corrected to: That withdrawal reaches no earnings and leaves $20,000 of contribution basis, with no federal income tax or 10% additional tax. The guide now separates regular contributions, conversion recapture and earnings; distinguishes the two five-tax-year tests; and explains that a penalty exception need not remove income tax.

Additional corrections: The first-home lifetime cap does not reset, and a qualified first-home distribution can be tax-free after the Roth holding period. Medical expenses do not require itemizing and are tested against final AGI; the revised example produces $237.50 of additional tax. Emergency, domestic-abuse, terminal-illness, disaster and SEPP conditions are corrected. Long-term-care-premium distributions and PLESAs are identified as workplace features, not IRA exceptions. Tax-form instructions no longer start automatically with the gross withdrawal.

Primary sources: IRS Publication 590-B; Form 8606 instructions; Form 5329 instructions; IRS Notices 2022-6, 2024-2, 2024-55, 2025-67 and 2026-33.

2026-08-31 · Significant

Affected page: Roth Conversion Tax Implications

What was wrong: The page said the ACA premium-tax-credit income ceiling remained waived in 2026, referred to a nonexistent 41% federal bracket and Form 8606 Part IV, and used misleading flat-rate and mixed-basis examples. Some related state-tax, Social Security and long-term-savings claims were too broad or unsupported.

Corrected to: The temporary ACA ceiling waiver applied to 2021–2025. For 2026 coverage, a one-person household in the contiguous states/DC uses the 2025 poverty guideline: $15,650 × 4 = $62,600. A taxable conversion can push income above that ceiling. The guide also notes the removal of excess advance-credit repayment caps after 2025.

Additional corrections: Recalculated progressive-bracket examples distinguish wages, taxable income and added tax; the $50,000 conversion in the stated $80,000-wage example adds $11,164 under the bracket formula. The pro-rata example now uses the owner's full IRA pool. Form 8606 Parts I, II and III have their correct roles. Withheld money is distinguished from money actually converted, and the Social Security, NIIT, state and funding discussions no longer promise a universal rate or lifetime saving. The August 22 Medicare correction remains in place.

Primary sources: IRS premium tax credit overview; IRS premium tax credit FAQ; HealthCare.gov poverty guidelines; IRS 2026 inflation adjustments; Form 8606 instructions; IRS Publications 505 and 915.

2026-08-29 · Significant

Affected page: Roth IRA Withdrawals for Education

What was wrong: The page said five tax years alone could make education withdrawals of Roth earnings tax-free, incorrectly prohibited using the same tuition for both the IRA higher-education exception and a Section 25A credit, and excluded meal plans while applying a half-time or full-time residential rule too broadly.

Corrected to: The education exception waives only the 10% additional tax. Roth earnings are income-tax-free only in a qualified distribution after the five-tax-year period plus age 59½, death, disability, or a qualifying first-home distribution. Section 72(t)(7)(B) subtracts tax-free scholarships and specified tax-free education benefits, not Section 25A credits; education credits have separate coordination rules. Half-time enrollment applies to room and board, which can include a meal plan up to the school’s allowance or qualifying school-housing charge.

Primary sources: IRC §§72(t)(2)(E), 72(t)(7), 408A(d)(2); IRS Publication 590-B; IRS Publication 970.

Additional corrections: Updated the 2026 gift exclusion to $19,000 per donor per recipient and clarified that it is not a 529 contribution cap; corrected the 529 surplus and rollover limits; fixed the Roth conversion layer and Form 1099-R code T definition; removed an incorrect Form 8863 subtraction; aligned eligible-school wording with the federal-aid participation test; and replaced a flat-rate FAFSA visual and an inaccurate savings projection.

2026-08-29 · Significant

Affected pages: Roth IRA Withdrawals for Education; 529 Plan vs. Roth IRA

What was wrong: The pages treated Roth withdrawals as automatically appearing on the next FAFSA, used a categorical 18-month or two-year timing shortcut, assigned flat 35% or 50% assessment rates, and converted distribution amounts into guaranteed aid losses. They also suggested tax-free Roth contribution withdrawals could be omitted.

Corrected to: Roth balances remain excluded as noneducation retirement assets. For the applicable FAFSA tax year, the income formula starts with AGI and adds untaxed IRA distributions from Form 1040 line 4a minus line 4b, while identifying qualifying rollovers separately. Gross line 4a includes Roth contribution basis even when federally tax-free. Each award year specifies its tax year, and the formula’s allowances and progressive tables mean no flat percentage or dollar-for-dollar aid result can be promised.

Primary sources: 2026–27 FAFSA form and Federal Student Aid Handbook, Application and Verification Guide, Chapter 3; 2026–27 Student Aid Index Formula Guide; published 2027–28 Student Aid Index Formula Guide.

2026-08-29 · Significant

Affected pages: The Saver's Match; Saver's Match Eligibility Checker; Contribution Limits; TrumpIRA.gov; Article Archive

What was wrong: The guide and checker treated the income phase-out as a continuous multiplier instead of applying the statute's whole-percentage-point reduction, so partial Matches could be wrong. The checker used Form 1040 AGI without the retirement and IRA add-backs required for Saver's Match MAGI and did not subtract specified distributions from qualifying contributions. It omitted the nonresident-alien exclusion and qualifying-surviving-spouse band. Reader-facing copy also treated 2027 thresholds as unconfirmed, listed SEP and ABLE contributions as qualifying, used Form 8880 instead of new Form 8880-A, and described a categorical pre-tax destination without the conduit-to-Roth method described in later IRS guidance.

Corrected to: The checker now applies the exact 2027 bands and floors the percentage-point reduction before subtracting it from 50; its fixtures reproduce the IRS's $285, $140 and $280 examples. Match MAGI now adds back specified pre-tax retirement contributions, deductible traditional-IRA contributions, and §§911, 931 and 933 exclusions. Qualifying contributions are reduced by entered distributions from the claim year, two preceding years and the post-year period through the return due date, and the tool does not show a final estimate until that review is confirmed. The guide now distinguishes direct payment to an accepting non-Roth destination from the possible conduit traditional-IRA route followed by a taxable, reportable Roth conversion; it also notes the under-$100 refundable-credit election and unresolved operational details.

Primary sources: IRS Notice 2026-48; IRC §6433; IRS, Saver's Match implementation overview.

2026-08-29 · Significant

Affected pages: Custodial Roth IRA; Can I Open a Roth IRA for My Child?

What was wrong: The guide said a Roth contribution belonged on the child’s tax return and told the parent to file Form 5498. It also used Forms 1099 and gross self-employment receipts as shorthand for IRA compensation, even though adjusted net self-employment earnings control. The pages described every minor-account handoff with generalized ages, said some brokers could transfer UTMA securities into a Roth in kind, and converted FAFSA formula inputs into guaranteed aid losses: a $50,000 UTMA was said to reduce aid by exactly $10,000 and each Roth withdrawal was said to face a 50% assessment. The contribution-deadline answer contradicted itself by saying “plus extensions” before correctly saying extensions do not apply. An adjacent FAQ overstated several 7% growth projections and made categorical cash-versus-index-fund claims.

Corrected to: A regular Roth contribution is not claimed on Form 1040; the IRA trustee or issuer files Form 5498 for the child participant and reports Roth contributions in box 10. For self-employment, the contribution ceiling starts with Schedule C net profit and applies required adjustments, including the deductible part of self-employment tax when applicable; a Form 1099 is only a record of gross payments. Regular IRA contributions must be cash, so taxable UTMA/UGMA securities generally must be sold before cash is contributed, with any gain or loss considered separately. The provider’s agreement and applicable state law govern when adult custodial authority ends. The FAFSA section now distinguishes an excluded retirement balance from a later distribution, identifies the conditional 20% student-asset and 50% available-income formulas, and avoids promising a dollar-for-dollar aid result. For most taxpayers, a 2026 contribution is due April 15, 2027, without a filing extension. The stated 7% one-time $5,000 examples now calculate to about $157,600 from age 14 and $74,900 from age 25, and investment choices are described without guaranteed yield or return comparisons.

Primary sources: IRC §§219(f)(3), 408 and 408A; IRS Publication 590-A; IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498; IRS IRA contribution-limit guidance; FINRA UTMA/UGMA guidance; 2026–27 FAFSA form and Federal Student Aid Handbook, Application and Verification Guide, Chapter 3.

2026-08-28 · Significant

Affected pages: SEP vs. Roth IRA; One-Participant 401(k) vs. Roth IRA; SIMPLE vs. Roth IRA; SIMPLE IRA Rules; How Many Retirement Accounts; How Many IRAs

What was wrong: A SEP example used the W-2 25% threshold for a Schedule C owner; a $250,000 Schedule C example overstated the employer contribution by about $10,957; and one page said unrelated employers create separate employee-deferral limits. IRA-count metadata folded SEP and SIMPLE plan contributions into the regular IRA cap. SIMPLE pages added the ordinary $4,000 catch-up to the $18,100 enhanced limit, yielding $22,100 instead of $21,950; they also overstated early-distribution penalties, used one RMD age for everyone, required plan termination before a post-two-year Roth conversion, and treated SIMPLE money as categorically pre-tax. SEP and one-participant 401(k) guidance treated optional Roth features, IRA roll-in acceptance and a low-tax backdoor result as automatic.

Corrected to: Schedule C employer contributions now use the Publication 560 reduced-rate calculation: approximately $376,500 of profit is needed to reach a $72,000 SEP contribution under the stated 2026 assumptions, and $250,000 produces about $47,043 of employer contribution plus a $24,500 employee deferral, or about $71,543. The §402(g) employee-deferral limit follows the person across 401(k), 403(b), SIMPLE and SARSEP plans; an eligible governmental 457(b) is separate. The enhanced SIMPLE catch-up is $3,850 for a $21,950 age-50 total; ages 60–63 use $5,250. SIMPLE penalty language now preserves §72(t) exceptions and the exact two-year date, while RMD ages follow birth year. Roth SEP/SIMPLE employer contributions and qualified-plan roll-ins remain optional plan features. Traditional SEP/SIMPLE balances remain in the Form 8606 pool unless an eligible, completed transaction removes them by December 31. Each affected article now carries an on-page correction note.

Primary sources: IRS Notice 2025-67; IRS Publications 560 and 590-A; IRS one-participant 401(k), multiple-plan-deferral, SEP and SIMPLE guidance; IRS Notice 2024-2; IRS Instructions for Form 8606; SECURE 2.0 §§332 and 601.

2026-08-24 · Significant

Affected pages: Contribution Limits; Eligibility; Conversion Rules; Traditional IRA to Roth FAQ; Roth IRA Rules; Spousal IRA; Avoiding the Pro-Rata Rule; Mega Backdoor Roth

What was wrong: Supporting pages continued to describe the informal backdoor sequence as explicitly approved by the IRS, unlimited, automatically low-cost, or dependent on an immediate conversion. One assumed a spouse without current compensation had no existing IRA balance and therefore a tax-free conversion. The eligibility guide omitted the Roth-MAGI worksheet’s conversion-income subtraction and used categorical cross-border language. The conversion guide treated gross conversion dollars as automatically taxable, overstated eligible 457(b) sources and in-plan Roth availability, misstated the separate five-year recapture rule, and labeled incremental conversion tax as total tax. Spousal-IRA language forced an equal contribution split and treated individual title as deciding divorce allocation. The Mega Backdoor guide incorrectly applied the IRA pro-rata pool to a qualified-plan transaction, reversed the tax-basis treatment of after-tax employee contributions, prescribed Form 8606 for the plan rollover, overstated a safe-harbor plan’s protection from ACP testing, misdescribed SECURE 2.0 Roth employer-contribution reporting, and omitted compensation, self-employed and final-plan filing qualifiers.

Corrected to: The pages now explain that the Code separately governs an eligible Traditional IRA contribution and a Roth conversion; income alone does not bar either underlying transaction, but compensation, annual IRA room, gains, pro-rata aggregation and records still matter. Roth MAGI now follows Publication 590-A Worksheet 2-1, including its subtraction for specified conversion and rollover income. Cross-border eligibility is treated as fact-specific. Federal law sets no minimum conversion interval or named safe harbor. Each spouse’s IRA pool and Form 8606 calculation is separate, while divorce allocation can still follow state law and a qualifying decree. The conversion guide distinguishes gross from taxable conversion dollars, eligible governmental 457(b) sources, plan-permitted in-plan rollovers, conversion recapture and general Roth earnings, and withholding from tax liability. A qualified-plan distribution or in-plan Roth rollover uses plan basis and allocation rules rather than the owner’s IRA pool. After-tax plan contributions are basis and are not taxed again when moved to Roth; pretax earnings moved to Roth are taxable. Plan records and Forms 1099-R/5498 generally report that plan path, while Form 8606 applies only if a separate IRA event triggers it. The Mega Backdoor guide now applies the lesser of $72,000 or 100% of compensation, preserves ACP testing, follows the §604 Roth employer-contribution reporting rule, uses the effective self-employed contribution calculation, and notes the final Form 5500 filing requirement.

Primary sources: IRC §§219, 402(c)(2), 402A(c)(4), 408(d)(2), 408(d)(6), and 415(c); IRS Notice 2014-54; IRS Notice 2025-67; IRS Publications 590-A, 590-B and 560; IRS Instructions for Form 8606; Treas. Reg. §1.401(m)-3; IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498; IRS designated-Roth-account guidance; IRS guidance on SECURE 2.0 Roth employer contributions; IRS one-participant 401(k) filing guidance.

2026-08-24 · Significant

Affected pages: The Pro-Rata Rule; Backdoor Roth IRA; Backdoor Roth & Pro-Rata Calculator; Can I Contribute?

What was wrong: The pro-rata guide contradicted Form 8606’s annual December 31 calculation with transaction-date ratios, and several examples were rounded or sequenced incorrectly. The strategy guide overstated the legal status of the informal “backdoor Roth” label, treated the start of a Roth phase-out as a complete contribution bar, and presented immediate conversion as a safety rule. It also described an entire-IRA workplace-plan rollover without separating ineligible basis and said a filing extension extended the contribution deadline. The calculator labeled a marginal-rate estimate as total tax, subtracted that estimate from the converted amount as though tax were withheld, accepted conversions and roll-ins that exceeded the entered asset pool, and turned arbitrary percentage bands into action advice. Its starting-balance prompt could also be read as asking for an already-post-transaction December 31 balance even though the model derives year-end value from the entered events. The contribution checker called an age-and-MAGI ceiling an exact contribution amount without collecting compensation or prior IRA contributions and sent some readers past the needed sequence-and-records review.

Corrected to: The pro-rata guide now follows one conversion-year Form 8606 denominator: substantiated basis divided by conversion-year December 31 Traditional/SEP/SIMPLE value plus the relevant same-year distributions and conversions. An accepting workplace plan may receive only eligible pretax IRA money; a completed year-end roll-in can affect an earlier conversion in that year. The strategy guide now distinguishes the phase-out range from a complete bar, states that federal law sets no minimum conversion waiting period, and routes uncertain basis to record reconstruction. The calculator labels its simplified marginal-rate estimate, assumes $0 IRA withholding, leaves the modeled conversion amount intact, rejects conversions and roll-ins that exceed the entered asset pool, and avoids execution recommendations. Its prompt now asks for the pre-event pretax component and carried basis and states that the model derives the December 31 balance after those events. The contribution checker now reports only the age/MAGI ceiling, reminds readers that compensation and prior contributions can reduce it, and routes alternative-path cases through the diagnostic before dollar modeling.

Primary sources: IRS, 2025 Form 8606, lines 6–10; IRS, 2025 Instructions for Form 8606; IRS, Publication 590-A (2025); IRS Notice 2025-67; IRS Notice 2014-54; IRC §§408(d)(2), 408(d)(3)(A)(ii), and 408A(c); IRS Notice 2026-49.

2026-08-23 · Significant

Affected pages: Backdoor Roth IRA; The Pro-Rata Rule; Backdoor Roth & Pro-Rata Calculator

What was wrong: The calculator excluded a traditional SIMPLE IRA from pro-rata aggregation during its first two years, even though that period restricts transfer destinations rather than Form 8606 aggregation. It also treated Traditional IRA deductibility as proof that a direct Roth contribution was available and said prior basis alone required a new Form 8606 in an otherwise inactive year. The two guides assigned traditional-IRA basis and pro-rata calculations to the wrong parts of Form 8606 and described some filing triggers imprecisely.

Corrected to: All taxpayer-owned traditional IRAs, including traditional SEP and traditional SIMPLE IRAs, enter the pro-rata pool regardless of the SIMPLE account’s age. Traditional IRA deductibility and direct Roth eligibility are presented as separate tests. The filing guidance now follows the IRS “Who Must File” list: basis carryover alone does not trigger a new form in an inactive year. Part I reports nondeductible contributions and performs the pro-rata calculation, Part II reports conversions and their taxable amount, and Part III addresses Roth IRA distributions. The calculator now states the timing assumptions behind its selected-line Form 8606 display.

Primary sources: IRS, 2025 Instructions for Form 8606; IRS, Publication 590-A (2025); IRS, Retirement Plans FAQs Regarding SIMPLE IRA Plans.

2026-08-22 · Significant

Affected pages: Roth Conversion Rules; Roth Conversion Tax Implications; Roth Conversion Cost Calculator; Multi-Year Roth Conversion Planner; Roth IRA MAGI Estimator

What was wrong: One article described a one-time $150,000 conversion as creating a lifetime IRMAA surcharge, even though one high tax year generally maps to one premium year. The articles and tools also treated the published 2026 table as an exact future-year table. Both conversion engines used approximate tier-edge comparisons that could put a reader at an exact boundary into the wrong tier and omitted tax-exempt interest from IRMAA MAGI. The planner showed total household IRMAA rather than the amount added by the conversion and applied its age-63 constraint using only the primary filer. The single-year calculator inferred Medicare exposure from age instead of asking which household members would actually have Part B and Part D, and it claimed to calculate ACA premium-tax-credit loss even though it had no ACA inputs or calculation.

Corrected to: The pages now distinguish the official 2026 table from clearly labeled planning benchmarks. IRMAA MAGI is calculated as AGI plus tax-exempt interest; exact CMS boundary semantics are shared across the tools; Part B and Part D counts are entered separately in the single-year calculator; the planner accounts for either spouse, states its full-year Part B-and-D assumption, and reports only added IRMAA. The unsupported ACA claim was removed. A new IRMAA Trap Detector exposes the before-and-after math and the special married-filing-separately schedule.

Primary sources: CMS, 2026 Medicare Parts B Premiums and Deductibles fact sheet; Social Security Handbook §§2501 and 2504; 20 C.F.R. §418.1205; SSA POMS HI 01120.001 and HI 01120.005; Form SSA-44.

2026-08-22 · Minor

Affected page: How to Pay Taxes on a Roth Conversion

What was wrong: A bracket-fill example said the 2026 22% bracket ended at $103,350 for single filers and $206,700 for married filing jointly. Those were stale values and made the example understate available bracket room.

Corrected to: The 24% bracket begins at $105,700 of taxable income for a single filer and $211,400 for married filing jointly in 2026. A single filer at $80,000 therefore has $25,700 of room before that boundary, assuming no other changes.

Primary source: Rev. Proc. 2025-32, 2026 tax-rate schedules.

2026-08-15 · Significant

Affected pages: Roth Conversion Cost Calculator; Multi-Year Roth Conversion Planner

What was wrong: Both tools estimated Virginia conversion tax by applying the state’s 5.75% top rate as a flat shortcut. Virginia actually uses graduated brackets, and taxable conversion income can reduce the income-based age deduction available to an eligible taxpayer. The shortcut could therefore understate or overstate Virginia tax and feed that incomplete amount into conversion comparisons.

Corrected to: Virginia now returns Not modeled, not $0. Virginia tax is excluded from displayed totals and effective rates, and the tools suppress state-sensitive recommendations and baseline comparisons. The tools direct Virginia readers to the state guide and a separate Virginia-return calculation.

Primary source: Va. Code §§58.1-320 and 58.1-322.03; 2025 Virginia Form 760 instructions and age-deduction worksheet (the latest final form available).

2026-08-15 · Significant

Affected page: 60-Day IRA Rollover Rule

What was wrong: The state-withholding section grouped Virginia with states whose lump-sum withholding could be affirmatively waived, without distinguishing a participant-paid eligible employer-plan rollover from a direct rollover or an IRA/SEP payment. It could be read to suggest that Form VA-4P provides a free opt-out from Virginia withholding.

Corrected to: An eligible employer-plan rollover distribution paid to an ordinary Virginia-resident participant generally carries mandatory 20% federal withholding plus 4% Virginia withholding. VA-4P permits a no-withholding certification only when a listed ground actually applies; it is not an unconditional election. Direct rollovers avoid the participant-paid rule, and Virginia separately exempts IRA and SEP payments from withholding.

Primary source: IRC §3405(c); IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498; Va. Code §§58.1-460 and 58.1-461; Virginia Tax Employer Withholding Instructions; Form VA-4P.

2026-08-15 · Minor

Affected page: How Old Do You Have to Be to Open a Roth IRA?

What was wrong: The age-of-majority section listed Virginia as a state that allows a custodial Roth IRA to remain under adult control until 25. That phrasing omitted the post-June-2019 transfer and express-designation conditions in Virginia UTMA, the beneficiary’s age-21 request right for certain irrevocable-gift transfers, and the threshold question whether a particular custodial Roth IRA uses Virginia UTMA at all.

Corrected to: The page now explains that the provider’s agreement and applicable law control the handoff. It describes Virginia’s age-25 UTMA designation only for qualifying transfers made on or after July 1, 2019, preserves the age-21 written-request boundary for covered gifts, and tells readers to confirm the account’s actual governing documents.

Primary source: Va. Code §§64.2-1903, 64.2-1904, 64.2-1908(E), and 64.2-1919(B).

2026-08-13 · Significant

Affected page: Inherited Roth IRA Calculator

What was wrong: A worked example said New Jersey taxes a fully qualified inherited Roth IRA distribution and imposed an assumed 5% state income-tax rate. It then used that invented tax cost to compare equal-annual and deferred distributions. The user guide also said the calculator accepted state-tax and Medicare inputs and identified an optimal schedule, even though the tool collects none of those inputs and does not calculate state tax, inheritance tax, IRMAA, or after-tax wealth outside the account. A New Jersey beneficiary could therefore have accelerated a distribution or reserved cash for state income tax that was not owed.

Corrected to: After the Roth five-year rule is satisfied, a qualified inherited Roth distribution is excluded from New Jersey gross income. New Jersey inheritance tax is a separate transfer tax that may apply based on the beneficiary’s class and share; this calculator does not model it. We removed the 5% example and unsupported tax-optimization claims, relabeled the output as a distribution schedule, and added a prominent dated editor’s note.

Primary source: N.J.S.A. 54A:6-28 (New Jersey gross-income exclusion for qualified Roth IRA distributions); New Jersey Division of Taxation, Inheritance and Estate Tax guidance (beneficiary-class rules and separate inheritance-tax filing).

2026-08-01 · Minor

Affected pages: Roth IRA vs. 401(k)

What was wrong: A scope problem in the creditor-protection section. We described a 401(k) as carrying “unlimited federal ERISA anti-alienation protection in and out of bankruptcy” without noting that the protection requires an ERISA-covered plan. A solo 401(k) covering only the owner, or the owner and a spouse, generally is not one: Labor Department regulations provide that an individual and their spouse are not employees of a business they wholly own, so a plan with no employee participants falls outside ERISA. The overstatement mattered most in the passage that names “physicians, business owners, landlords” as the readers for whom a 401(k)’s asset protection is decisive — precisely the group most likely to hold an owner-only plan.

Corrected to: The claim is now conditioned on ERISA coverage, and the section explains the distinction: outside bankruptcy an owner-only solo 401(k) depends on state law rather than anti-alienation, while inside bankruptcy the outcome is generally unchanged, because the Bankruptcy Code shields retirement funds in any plan qualified under §401(a) whether or not ERISA applies. We classified this as minor rather than significant because the section already stated the principal carve-outs (the IRS, a QDRO in divorce, and certain criminal-restitution claims) and already hedged with “generally,” so the gap narrowed to owner-only plans outside bankruptcy rather than misstating the rule for employer-sponsored plans.

Verified against: 29 C.F.R. §2510.3-3(b) and (c)(1) (plans with no employee participants; an individual and spouse are not employees of a wholly owned business); 11 U.S.C. §522(b)(3)(C) and §522(d)(12) (bankruptcy protection turns on tax-qualification under §401(a) and related sections, not on ERISA coverage).

2026-07-31 · Significant

Affected pages: Can a Trump Account Be Converted to a Roth IRA?; Trump Accounts; Trump Account vs. Roth IRA; Roth IRA in Congress; Can You Have Multiple Roth IRAs?

What was wrong: Three distinct problems, found in a full re-audit of our Trump Accounts coverage against primary sources. (1) The conversion FAQ had been published with the wrong article body: its title, address and structured data promised “Can a Trump Account Be Converted to a Roth IRA?” while the visible page carried our multiple-Roth-IRAs article — a reader arriving from a search result never got the answer the result promised. (2) Several pages described a Trump Account as available to “U.S. citizen children.” That is not what the statute says: the account requires only that the child be under 18 with a Social Security number; citizenship is a condition of the $1,000 federal seed, not of the account. The error wrongly told mixed-status and permanent-resident families their children could not have an account. (3) Our pages said that at 18 the account “becomes a regular Traditional IRA” for all purposes. IRS guidance says the account does not cease to be a Trump Account: it is treated under the ordinary Traditional-IRA rules, but it can never receive SEP or SIMPLE contributions and is never aggregated with other IRAs. Several citations also pointed to the wrong sections of Notice 2025-68 and of the statute, and one answer misattributed inherited-Roth tracking to §408A(d)(3) instead of the SECURE Act 10-year rule at §401(a)(9)(H).

Corrected to: The conversion FAQ was rebuilt in full with the correct article, including the basis rule (individual contributions convert tax-free as basis; the seed, employer and charitable contributions, and earnings are taxable), the non-aggregation rule, and the January-1-of-the-year-turning-18 window — with the consequence that the first real-world conversions can occur January 1, 2027. Eligibility language now distinguishes the account (any child under 18 with a Social Security number) from the seed (U.S. citizens born 2025–2028). The at-18 description now follows the guidance precisely. All affected pages were also brought current with the program’s July 4, 2026 launch: enrollment is live via TrumpAccounts.gov, IRS Form 4547 (including electronic submission through the IRS Individual Online Account), and the Social Security Administration’s hospital enrollment-at-birth process; the Department of Labor’s June 17, 2026 Technical Release 2026-02 addressed the ERISA status of employer contribution programs; and a public hearing on the proposed regulations was scheduled for July 16, 2026.

Primary source: IRC §530A and §6434; IRS Notice 2025-68 (read in full, including Q&As C-3, G-1, G-2, A-10 and I-3); REG-117270-25 and REG-117002-25; IRS Form 4547 and instructions; IRS newsroom IR-2026-42 and IR-2026-68; U.S. Treasury press release of July 4, 2026; SSA press release of July 3, 2026; DOL Technical Release 2026-02; 91 FR 34182; IRC §401(a)(9)(H) as finalized in TD 10001.

2026-07-28 · Significant

Affected pages: Roth IRA in Congress (/congress-tracker/); Can You Lose Money in a Roth IRA? (/faq/can-you-lose-money-in-a-roth-ira/); Glossary (/glossary/)

What was wrong: All three pages treated the expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s individual income tax provisions as an open question. The legislation tracker carried it as an active, not-enacted item, stating that the provisions “expire after tax year 2025 unless extended,” that reversion “would push the top bracket from 37% back to 39.6% and compress middle brackets, directly affecting Roth-conversion optimization,” and that proposals to extend, modify or allow the sunset were “moving in parallel.” The Roth-loss FAQ said the suspension of miscellaneous itemized deductions was “scheduled to sunset after 2025, but Congress is likely to extend it,” and repeated that hedge in its Quick Facts (“sunset 2026 unless extended”) and in its FAQ answer, including the answer’s structured data (“and likely extended”). The glossary said many TCJA provisions “expire after 2025 absent further legislation.” None of that had been true since July 2025. Separately, the FAQ’s Quick Facts attributed the loss of the deduction to TCJA having “repealed the §72(b)(2) basis-recovery deduction” — the deduction was never located in §72(b)(2); it had to be claimed as a miscellaneous itemized deduction, and it is that vehicle which was removed.

Corrected to: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) resolved both questions in July 2025. §70101 made the TCJA individual rates and bracket structure permanent for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, so the reversion to a 39.6% top rate never happened and the 10/12/22/24/32/35/37% schedule has no scheduled end date; the tracker entry has been moved from active to enacted and rewritten, and now notes that the rate-increase deadline which framed conversion timing through 2025 no longer exists. §70110 terminated miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2%-of-AGI floor permanently for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025 (carving out only educator expenses), so the pre-2018 route for deducting a Roth IRA loss — closing every Roth IRA and recovering less than total basis — is closed with no expiration date rather than dormant pending a sunset. The FAQ’s bottom-line answer was already correct (no deduction in 2026) and has not changed; what changed is the reasoning, the citations, and the removal of the speculation about what Congress might do. The glossary entry now states that the expiration did not occur. Why this mattered: the tracker tied the phantom rate reversion directly to conversion planning, so a reader could have reasoned toward converting ahead of an increase that had already been cancelled — and the same site was simultaneously publishing 2026 brackets topping out at 37%.

Primary source: One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) §70101 (Extension and Enhancement of Reduced Rates) and §70110 (Termination of Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions Other Than Educator Expenses); Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (P.L. 115-97) §11045; IRC §67(g); IRS Publication 590-B; IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 bracket figures).

2026-07-11 · Minor

Affected page: SIMPLE IRA Rules (/simple-ira-rules/)

What was wrong: The Roth SIMPLE section named “Vanguard SIMPLE” among current custodians that had not implemented Roth contributions. Vanguard had exited the SIMPLE IRA business before the page was published — Ascensus acquired Vanguard’s SIMPLE IRA plans (together with its Individual 401(k) and multi-participant SEP business) in a transaction completed in July 2024. The custodian description had also gone stale: it did not reflect that Roth salary deferrals have since become available at several major custodians.

Corrected to: The section now reflects the mid-2026 landscape: the Roth employer match remains essentially unavailable — custodians deposit matching and nonelective contributions pre-tax even where Roth deferrals are offered — while Roth employee deferrals are spreading: available at Capital Group, and at Ascensus (administrator of the former Vanguard SIMPLE IRA plans since 2024) on new plans immediately and on existing plans beginning January 1, 2027.

Primary source: Ascensus announcements (April 16, 2024 acquisition; June 30, 2026 Roth-deferral rollout); Capital Group SIMPLE IRA plan documentation; IRS Notice 2024-2.

2026-06-18 · Significant

Affected page: 529 Plan vs. Roth IRA (/529-vs-roth-ira/)

What was wrong: The page stated that the OBBBA’s increase of the annual K-12 529 distribution cap from $10,000 to $20,000 per beneficiary was “effective July 4, 2025,” bundling it with the other OBBBA 529 changes under one effective date (in the lead-in, Quick Facts, the OBBBA section, the comparison table, and the FAQ — including the FAQ structured data).

Corrected to: The $20,000 K-12 cap is effective only for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025 (i.e., tax year 2026) per OBBBA §70413(b)(2) — it was still $10,000 for tax year 2025. Only the expanded K-12 expense list (§70413(a)) and the new postsecondary-credentialing expenses (§70414) took effect for distributions after July 4, 2025. The page now presents the two effective-date tracks separately throughout, including the visible FAQ and its structured data.

Primary source: One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) §§70413–70414.

2026-05-31 · Significant

Affected page: The Saver's Match (/savers-match/)

What was wrong: The page stated that the Saver's Match (effective tax year 2027) is deposited into your Roth IRA or Roth 401(k), and described the match as behaving "like a Roth contribution" with tax-free qualified distributions.

Corrected to: The match cannot be deposited into a Roth. It is deposited into a non-Roth account the taxpayer designates — a traditional IRA or a pre-tax workplace plan — even when the qualifying contribution went into a Roth IRA, and the match (with its earnings) is taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn. The lead, all three worked examples, the deposit-mechanics section, and the FAQ were corrected, and a new FAQ explaining the distinction was added. The 2027 phase-out figures, match amounts, and disqualifiers were already correct and were not changed.

Primary source: Internal Revenue Code §6433(e) (enacted by SECURE 2.0 §103); IRS Notice 2024-65.