Craig Wear, CFP®Craig Wear, CFP® | Expert in Roth Conversions & Tax-Efficient Retirement Strategies for IRA Millionaires

Are You Leaving Your Heirs A Tax Bomb?

24 Apr 2026 · 0 min

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In this brief excerpt from Craig Wear, CFP®, the speaker explains that inherited IRAs remain taxable for beneficiaries and that the recent 10‑year distribution rule eliminates the ability to stretch required minimum distributions over a beneficiary’s lifetime. As a result, heirs may inherit a substantial tax liability—a "tax bomb"—if proper estate‑planning strategies are not employed. The conversation highlights the gap between the perception of an IRA as a wealth gift and the reality of the tax burden it can impose.

A lot of people see their IRA as something they're leaving to their kids. But it doesn't stop being taxable.
Yeah, exactly. They're inheriting a tax problem along with the money. On paper, it looks like wealth, but without planning, it creates a very different outcome.
And that's because of the 10-year rule. They, they just can't stretch it anymore.
That's right. Now the problem is compressed. Large account, less time, and withdrawals stack on top of their peak earning years on top of that. So it costs them more to just receive the money. Exactly. If you don't solve the IRA problem, you just pass it down. So for IRA Millionaires, Roth conversions aren't a one-year decision. To save 6 or 7 figures in taxes, you need a strategy that connects all the dots, right?