My 89yo mother recently passed (in November). She had not yet made her RMD for 2025.
Because her taxable income kept her easily in the 12% tax bracket and I am in the 22%, I obviously want to tax shelter as much of her traditional IRAs that I will inherit. Her 2025 RMD is around $20K. I want to max out her tax bracket which would mean a $68K distribution. Because she died prior to making any distributions for 2025 yet, can I implement this strategy or is her RMD the max I can include in her final tax return?
I realize it is not much, $48K difference, but I hate giving more to the gov than is required.