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A.R.S. § 14-7418

Deferred Comp & Annuity Trust Payments

Verified April 4, 202657th Legislature, 1st Regular Session

When a trust receives payments from an IRA, pension, or annuity contract, specific rules control how each payment is split. The allocation depends on whether the payment is characterized as interest or dividends. A marital deduction may also change the result.

Title 14, TRUST ADMINISTRATION

azleg.gov

How Payments Get Split

A qualified plan, pension, or annuity contract often names a trust as the beneficiary. When those payments arrive, the trustee needs clear rules for dividing them. The income tax treatment of each payment drives the allocation between principal and income.

To the extent that a payment is characterized as interest or a dividend, or a payment made in lieu of interest or a dividend, a trustee shall allocate it to income. The trustee shall allocate to principal the balance of the payment and any other payment received in the same accounting period that is not characterized as interest, a dividend or an equivalent payment.

A.R.S. § 14-7418(A)

If a payment clearly identifies an interest or dividend portion, that part goes to income. The rest goes to principal. When no portion is labeled as interest or dividends but the payment is required, ten percent goes to income and the balance to principal. If the payment is entirely discretionary, it all goes to principal.

Special Rules for Marital Deduction Trusts

Trusts that qualify for the federal estate tax marital deduction face additional requirements. If the standard allocation would not give the surviving spouse enough income to satisfy the deduction, the trustee must allocate more to income.

For these qualifying trusts, the statute requires the trustee to determine the "internal income" of each separate fund. If that calculation is not possible, the law provides a default rate of four percent of the fund's value. This ensures the surviving spouse receives adequate income while preserving the marital deduction.

The definition of "payment" under this section is broad. It covers money received from a commercial annuity, an individual retirement account, and a pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus, or stock ownership plan. Whether payments come from the payer's general assets or a dedicated fund, these rules apply.

For families with a trust that holds retirement assets, the tax treatment of each payment matters. The trustee must track which portion counts as income for the current beneficiary. Getting this allocation right affects how much the income beneficiary receives each year.

When a marital deduction trust is involved, the trustee may need to determine the present value of the separate fund and distribute the internal income to the trust. This ensures the surviving spouse receives enough to satisfy the deduction requirements.

14-7418. Deferred compensation, annuities and similar payments; definition A. To the extent that a payment is characterized as interest or a dividend, or a payment made in lieu of interest or a dividend, a trustee shall allocate it to income. The trustee shall allocate to principal the balance of the payment and any other payment received in the same accounting period that is not characterized as interest, a dividend or an equivalent payment. B. If no part of a payment is characterized as interest, a dividend or an equivalent payment, and all or part of the payment is required to be made, a trustee shall allocate to income ten per cent of the part that is required to be made during the accounting period and the balance to principal. If no part of a payment is required to be made or the payment received is the entire amount to which the trustee is entitled, the trustee shall allocate the entire payment to principal. For the purposes of this subsection, a payment is not required to be made to the extent that it is made because the trustee exercises a right of withdrawal. C. If, to obtain an estate tax marital deduction for a trust, a trustee must allocate more of a payment to income than provided for by this section, the trustee shall allocate to income the additional amount necessary to obtain the marital deduction. D. Subsections C, E and F of this section do not apply to the extent that the series of payments, without the application of subsection C of this section, would qualify for the marital deduction under 26 United States Code section 2056(b)(7)(C), as amended. E. A trustee shall determine the internal income of each separate fund for the accounting period as if the separate fund were a trust subject to this article. On request of the surviving spouse, the trustee shall demand that the person administering the separate fund distribute the internal income to the trust. The trustee shall allocate a payment from the separate fund to income to the extent of the internal income of the separate fund and distribute that amount to the surviving spouse. The trustee shall allocate the balance of the payment to the principal. On request of the surviving spouse, the trustee shall allocate principal to income to the extent the internal income of the separate fund exceeds payments made from the separate fund to the trust during the accounting period. F. If a trustee cannot determine the internal income of a separate fund but can determine the value of the separate fund, the internal income of the separate fund is deemed to equal four per cent of the fund's value, according to the most recent statement of value preceding the beginning of the accounting period. If the trustee cannot determine the internal income of the separate fund or the fund's value, the internal income of the fund is deemed to equal the product of the interest rate and the present value of the expected future payments, as determined under section 7520 of the internal revenue code of 1986, as amended, 26 United States Code section 7520, as amended, for the month preceding the accounting period for which the computation is made. G. This section does not apply to a payment to which section 14-7419 applies. H. For the purposes of this section, "payment" means a payment that a trustee may receive over a fixed number of years or during the life of one or more individuals because of services rendered or property transferred to the payer in exchange for future payments. Payment includes a payment made in money or property from the payer's general assets or from a separate fund created by the payer, including a private or commercial annuity, an individual retirement account and a pension, profit sharing, stock bonus or stock ownership plan. For purposes of subsections C, D, E and F of this section, payment also includes any payment from any separate fund, regardless of the reason for the payment.

This page provides general legal information about Arizona statutes and is not legal advice. For guidance on how this law applies to your situation, speak with a qualified attorney.

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