The Dispatch

Year-End Planning

Deadline for Processing by Year-End: December 6th

To ensure requests with tax implications are completed before year-end, all requests must be received by Freedom Advisors, in good order, by Friday, 12/6/24. Requests received after this date will be completed on a best-efforts basis and may not be completed by year-end. Please ensure your staff are aware of these timeframes and best practices to facilitate timely processing of all requests

Tax Reporting Requirements

In accordance with IRS regulations:

• Tax reporting is for the year in which the distribution is processed.
• IRA distributions, including Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) and Roth IRA conversions, cannot be backdated to reflect a previous tax year.

Best Practices to Avoid Delays

1. Cash Availability: If the cash for a distribution is not already available in the account, enter a Raise Cash service request directly in our platform before submitting distribution requests. Distributions can only occur after trades have settled.
2. Tax Lot Harvesting: Tax lot specified trading involves manual processing and such trades take substantially longer to enter than other trade types. Trades cannot be backdated.
3. Roth Conversions: Since these involve both Freedom and the custodian, submit requests as early as possible in the event there are delays due to high volumes. If opening a new account is necessary for the conversion, please allow an additional two business days for processing.
4. Specific to Goldman Sachs Custody:
   1. Bank Link Approval: Ensure clients promptly approve new bank links in Goldman Sachs’ website (here). Distributions to a new bank cannot occur until the client has logged into Goldman Sachs’ website and approved the link.
   2. Third-Party Distributions: Goldman Sachs requires clients to confirm all third-party distributions, including Qualified Charitable Distributions, through its website (here). If your client does not complete this step, the distribution cannot be processed.
      

Important Information

State Tax Withholding: Certain states^{1, 2, 3} mandate minimum state tax withholding; as outlined on the last page of each custodian’s IRA Distribution Form, available in the Support Center. Clients wishing to withhold less than the state-mandated minimum must submit the required state tax form. Note: State tax forms require additional review by the custodian which will extend processing times.