Account Balance

L1: Nevermind. I got this
Hi. I understand how to do a SEPP from my existing Trad IRA. I factor in the fed mid-term rate, use the age factor, select a calculation type (SingleLife) and the amount of the IRA fund. The question I have is the amount of the IRA I am dispersing from. If I set it up today with Vanguard, do i use its current value? or as of 12/31/18? or 2/28/19?
I hope this makes sense.

NewPlan. Age in 2019:53 years old. First distribution date: ASAP
Thanks!
2019-03-13 18:15, By: TomP, IP: [199.116.118.172]

L2: Nevermind. I got this
If you start your plan, the account balance should:
1) Be any balance that you can document with a copy.
2) Can be no contributions or non SEPP distributions between the date of the account balance and your first SEPP distribution.
3) 2/28 would be a very good date since there is often a month end statement to copy. You probably would not want to use 12/31 since your IRA has probably increased a decent amount since then. 2/28 would probably reflect a higher balance.
4) Don’t rush to take your first distribution before you double check all your calculations. For this first year you can either pro rate (10/12 of the annual) or take a full annual distribution. You could keep your options open on that by taking out 10/12 between now and November, then deciding if you want to take the other 2/12 out before year end or not.
5) If you set up automatic monthly distributions, avoid the first or last 7 days of the month to reduce the risk of year end snafus that leave no time for correction.
2019-03-13 23:56, By: Alan S, IP: [72.24.226.251]