What are the Deadlines to make Contributions for 2014 to IRAs and QRPs? Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and ESAs – Must be established and funded by April 15, 2015, for tax year 2014. Note: Tax filing extensions do not extend the deadline for making 2014 IRA and ESA contributions. SEP and SIMPLE IRAs – SEP IRA contributions for tax year 2014 can be established and funded by the employer’s tax filing dates, including extensions. SEP IRA participants are allowed to make regular Traditional IRA contributions to their SEP IRAs, in addition to receiving SEP employer and SARSEP deferral contributions to the same account. Contributions representing prior-year Traditional IRA contribution made to SEP accounts are due April 15, 2015. To ensure proper processing, those deposits must be clearly marked “2014 IRA Contribution.” New SIMPLE IRAs must have been established by October 1, 2014, to accept contributions for the 2014 tax year. SIMPLE IRAs for 2015 must be established by October 1, 2015 for the 2015 tax year. Qualified Retirement Plans (QRPs) – Qualified retirement plans (QRPs) maintained on a calendar-year basis must have been established by December 31, 2014, to accept contributions for the 2014 tax year. Even though a QRP must be established by the last day of the plan’s tax year, your clients may make prior-year contributions up to their tax-filing deadline, including extensions.

Can I make contributions from another brokerage account?

Yes. Contributions may be made from another brokerage account held with Bradley Wealth / Shareholders Service Group as long as free cash is available. The request can be processed before the cut-off time of the money market fund held in the brokerage account (8:30 AM PST for some funds, 11 AM PST for others) on April 15, 2015. Please allow time for sending, receiving and processing the request. Please note: Free cash must be available in the delivering brokerage account before it can be used as a contribution to an IRA. There is a 7-business day hold on checks and ACH deposits made to a brokerage account, which means funds received by check may not be moved to an IRA until after the 7-day hold period. Also be aware of the settlement period on trades; a credit from a trade is not available as cash until settlement date.

Can I make a contribution via ACH?

Yes. Contributions for tax year 2014 can be made via ACH to your Pershing LLC account. But please be aware that when we receive a contribution to an IRA via ACH, it is automatically coded as a current-year contribution. All ACH requests must be received by 10:00 AM PST, Friday, April 10, 2015, to allow adequate processing time.

What is the Proper Documentation for a contribution made near the deadline?

Prior-year IRA contributions received by mail or express service after April 15, 2015, will be verified for an April 15, 2015, postmark or express-service receipt date. All envelopes which contain IRA contributions, SEP plan documents, new account documents, adoption agreements, must show a postmark or express-service receipt date of April 15, 2015, or before. IRA and ESA contributions will be accepted for a short time after the deadline, provided a proper postmark is included. Prior-year IRA contributions delivered after April 15, 2015, without a verified postmark or express-service receipt date cannot be processed as prior-year contributions. There are no exceptions permitted.

Should I indicate which tax year a contribution is intended for?

Yes. Checks and other deposits received for prior-year contributions must be clearly marked as prior-year contributions. Checks received without the applicable year clearly indicated on the check or on a contribution form will be deposited as current-year contributions. We cannot assume that a check received in 2015 is for a 2014 (prior-year) contribution. Please indicate the tax year.

Have the Contribution Limits for 2015 been increased?

Yes, for tax year 2015, the contribution limits are as follows:

• IRA and Roth IRA – $5,500 ($1000 catch-up, total $6,500)
• SEP IRA – increased to $53,000
• SIMPLE IRA – Maximum eligible employee contribution is $12,500 ($3000 catch-up, total $15,500).
• 401(k), 403(b), 457
  • Employee Deferral – $18,000
  • Employee Catch-up – $6,000
  • Total 401K Contribution Limit – $53,000.00
  • Total 401K Contribution with Catch-up – $59,000

If you have any questions, please call our office at 844-4BWM-100.]]>