Tapping an IRA the wrong way in a divorce can be a costly blunder. Sometimes you need to talk to a CPA.
A divorce court ordered a man to pay $100,000 in a nontaxable transaction into an IRA titled in his ex-wife’s name.
He was also ordered to pay her attorney fees.
The husband then withdrew money from his IRA and paid his ex the cash, causing a taxable event. So he is stuck with the tax bill on the IRA distribution, according to the Tax Court.
Putting an IRA payout in his own account and then writing checks to his ex-wife is not a tax-free IRA transfer incident to divorce
He could have escaped tax if he had changed the name on his IRA to that of his ex-wife or ordered a direct transfer of assets to an IRA owned by her
Kirkpatrick, TC Memo. 2018-20