2000 Tax Help Archives  

Publication 553 2000 Tax Year

2000 Changes

This is archived information that pertains only to the 2000 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.

Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)

Traditional IRA income limits increased. For 2000, if you are covered by a retirement plan at work, your deduction for contributions to a traditional IRA will be reduced (phased out) if your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is between:

  • $52,000 and $62,000 for a married couple filing a joint return or a qualifying widow(er),
  • $32,000 and $42,000 for a single individual or head of household, or
  • $-0- and $10,000 for a married individual filing a separate return.

For all filers other than married individuals filing separate returns, the upper and lower limits of the phaseout range increased by $1,000. The range limits did not change for married individuals filing a separate return. See Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), for more information on IRA deductions.

Returned contributions and recharacterizations. Beginning in 2000, a new calculation method allows you to take into account loss on a returned or recharacterized IRA contribution when determining the amount of net income that also must be withdrawn or recharacterized. Under the new method, the net income may be a negative amount. Under the old method, net income could not be a negative amount.

For more information on returned contributions, see Contributions Returned Before the Due Date in chapter 1 of Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). For more information on recharacterizations, see Recharacterizations in chapter 2 of Publication 590.

5-Year Tax Option Repealed

The 5-year tax option for figuring the tax on lump-sum distributions from a qualified retirement plan has been repealed. However, a plan participant can continue to choose the 10-year tax option or capital gain treatment for a lump-sum distribution that qualifies for the special treatment. See the discussion on lump-sum distributions under Taxation of Nonperiodic Payments in Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income.

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