72t starting balance

L1: 72t starting balanceI plan to start a 72t during summer of 2010. Can I use my year end 2009 account balance for the calculation?2010-01-03 22:46, By: BigTex, IP: [173.173.86.221]
L2: 72t starting balanceYou could use the 09 year end balance, but I would not try to use it if your plan started any later than June. You also cannot use it if the amount deviates substantially from your account balance when you order your first distribution. If the market tanks between now and early summer and your account drops more than 15%, you may be inviting an IRS challenge that your balance deviated too much from the current balance.Usually, you would not want to go back in time the full 6 months unless your account value has dropped in the interim, since the highest value you can safely use is to your advantage even if it just allows you to partition your account into a SEPP account and a non SEPP IRA account to be used for emergency needs.Note that any date you elect cannot have distributions OR contributions made to the account between that date and your first SEPP distribution. We should probably post this caveat occasionally since everyone may not figure this out on their own.2010-01-04 19:28, By: Alan S., IP: [24.116.165.60]