Will Your Kids Inherit a Tax Bomb from You?
You’ve carefully saved a lot in tax-deferred retirement accounts, and you hope to pass much of that wealth to your loved ones. Unfortunately, your legacy for your heirs will also include a massive tax bill.


Editor’s note: This is part four of a seven-part series. It dives more deeply into the issue of how tax-deferred saving can saddle your heirs with massive tax liabilities. If you missed the introductory article, you may find it helpful to start here.
Parents want the best for their children, and many work hard to provide a generous inheritance for the next generation. Unfortunately, the tax bite that can come with inheriting a traditional IRA or other pre-tax savings account can be astonishing, tainting your legacy.
Recall from my part-two article on required minimum distributions (RMDs), the case study of 40-year-old couple who saved $500,000 combined in pre-tax retirement accounts and who continue to max out pre-tax contributions until retirement at age 65.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Despite taking RMDs of $15.6 million from age 72 to 90, the couple’s tax-deferred accounts keep growing, reaching $16.1 million by age 90. Let’s assume our couple dies at age 90 and the inherited tax-deferred accounts are divided equally between their two surviving children.
Prior to passage of the SECURE Act in 2019, non-spouse heirs typically could calculate RMDs on inherited IRAs using their own life expectancy, which allowed them to “stretch” out the RMD over a much longer period, perhaps 30 years or more. That’s no longer the case.
Under current tax law, heirs have 10 years to fully deplete any inherited IRAs, though they can choose how much to take out each year, from nothing at all to everything at once. While that flexibility can be valuable from a tax-planning perspective, it still means that most people inheriting IRAs will have significantly fewer years to take their RMDs, meaning significantly more taxable income during that decade. Recall that RMD income from tax-deferred accounts is taxed as ordinary income.
For the two surviving heirs in our case study, if we assume zero growth in the liability (unlikely) and they take distributions of 10% annually for 10 years in order to smooth income and taxes, each will have $809,105 of taxable RMD income annually for 10 years. This income is likely to hit during their peak earning years, pushing them into very high tax brackets.
Clearly, this is a first-world problem. But do you want your kids to inherit that kind of tax nightmare?
So far this series has looked at how tax-deferred saving can create problems with RMD income, Medicare means testing surcharges and inherited tax liability. My next article starts looking at solutions to these problems.
- Part 1: Is Your Retirement Portfolio a Tax Bomb?
- Part 2: When It Comes to Your RMDs, Be Very, Very Afraid!
- Part 3: Watch out! RMDs Can Trigger Massive Medicare Means Testing Surcharges
- Part 4: Will Your Kids Inherit a Tax Bomb from You?
- Part 5: How to Defuse a Retirement Tax Bomb, Starting With 1 Simple Move
- Part 6: Using Asset Location to Defuse a Retirement Tax Bomb
- Part 7: Roth Conversions Play Key Role in Defusing a Retirement Tax Bomb
- Bonus article 1: 2 Ways Retirees Can Defuse a Tax Bomb (It’s Not Too Late!)
- Bonus article 2: Can My Pension Trigger a Retirement Tax Bomb?
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

David McClellan is a partner with Forum Financial Management, LP, a Registered Investment Adviser that manages more than $7 billion in client assets. He is also VP and Head of Wealth Management Solutions at AiVante, a technology company that uses artificial intelligence to predict lifetime medical expenses. Previously David spent nearly 15 years in executive roles with Morningstar (where he designed retirement income planning software) and Pershing. David is based in Austin, Texas, but works with clients nationwide. His practice focuses on financial life coaching and retirement planning. He frequently helps clients assess and defuse retirement tax bombs.
-
Kickstart Your 2026 Retirement Plan Now
Retirement can feel far-off, or too close for comfort, depending on where you’re at. But one thing’s clear — now is the ideal time to get your retirement plan in order.
-
Four Clever and Tax-Efficient Ways to Ditch Concentrated Stock Holdings, From a Financial Planner
Holding too much of one company's stock can put your financial future at risk. Here are four ways you can strategically unwind such positions without triggering a massive tax bill.
-
Four Clever and Tax-Efficient Ways to Ditch Concentrated Stock Holdings, From a Financial Planner
Holding too much of one company's stock can put your financial future at risk. Here are four ways you can strategically unwind such positions without triggering a massive tax bill.
-
Beyond Banking: How Credit Unions Serve Their Communities
Credit unions differentiate themselves from traditional banks by operating as member-owned financial cooperatives focused on community support and service rather than shareholder profit.
-
Answers to Every Early Retiree's Questions This Year, From a Wealth Adviser
From how to retire in a crazy market to how much to withdraw and how to spend without feeling guilty, a financial pro shares the advice he's given this year.
-
The Risks of Forced DST-to-UPREIT Conversions, From a Real Estate Expert
Some new Delaware statutory trust offerings are forcing investors into 721 UPREIT conversions at the end of the hold period, raising concerns about loss of control, limited liquidity, opaque valuations and unexpected tax liabilities.
-
I'm a Financial Adviser: You've Built Your Wealth, Now Make Sure Your Family Keeps It
The Great Wealth Transfer is well underway, yet too many families aren't ready. Here's how to bridge the generation gap that could threaten your legacy.
-
Want to Advance on the Job? Showing Some Courtesy and Appreciation Could Help
Two business professors share their insights about the impact of digital communication on the social skills of some in Gen Z and the importance of good manners on the job.
-
From Job Loss to Free Agent: A Financial Professional's Transition Playbook (and Pep Talk)
The American workforce is in transition, and if you're among those affected, take heart. You have the skills, experience and smarts that companies need.
-
A Financial Planner's Top Five Items to Prioritize When Your Spouse Is Ill
During tough times, it's easy to overlook important financial details, but you'll be so much better off if you take care of these things right now.