Guide
The HNW Guide to RMD Minimization
Six structural tools for households with $5M+ in pre-tax accounts.
Bracket-fill Roth conversions are the starting point, not the whole toolkit. For a household with $5M or more concentrated in pre-tax accounts, there usually isn't enough room in the gap years to convert the balance away before RMDs begin. This guide covers five additional structural tools, QCDs at scale, the one-time CRT/CGA election, QLACs, NUA on company stock, and donor-advised fund bunching, that don't compete with conversions for bracket space, using the actual 2026 numbers.
15 pages. 4 charts. A fillable worksheet. No commitment, no sales agenda.
$400,000+
Illustrative first-year RMD on a $5M pre-tax IRA grown to roughly $10.7M by age 73
$222,000
2026 combined annual QCD limit for a married couple, both 70½+, excluded from taxable income and MAGI
$420,000
Combined QLAC premium a married couple can carve out of RMD calculations, deferring income to age 85
What's inside
Why a $5M+ pre-tax balance usually can't be converted away in the gap years alone, and what to do instead
How QCDs at scale (up to $222,000/year for a couple) and the one-time $55,000 CRT/CGA election each work
How a $420,000 combined QLAC carve-out changes your RMD calculation base and guarantees income past 85
Why the NUA decision on company stock has to happen before any rollover, not after, and what it's worth
A full worked example: a household sequencing all six tools across the years before and after RMD age
The four specific, named ways HNW households leave structural tax reduction on the table
A four-question framework for weighting which tools matter most for your situation
A seven-step action plan and a fillable worksheet to size your own toolkit
The four ways this goes wrong
Not hypothetical risks. Each one shows up repeatedly in real HNW households, and each one is preventable, but only if it's caught before an irreversible decision, not after.
The "deal with it at 73" default
Treating the gap years as a waiting period instead of the only window for conversions, NUA elections, and QLAC purchases. By 73, the balance is larger and three of the six tools are either less effective or unavailable.
The NUA giveaway
Rolling company stock straight into an IRA without checking the cost basis first. This permanently converts what could have been long-term capital gains treatment into ordinary income treatment, and it cannot be undone.
The QCD-to-DAF mistake
Directing a QCD to a donor-advised fund. Donor-advised funds are explicitly excluded from QCD eligibility; the distribution must go straight to a public charity or, for the one-time election, to a CRT or CGA.
The single-tool trap
Running Roth conversions and stopping there. QCDs, the CRT/CGA election, and QLACs don't use bracket space and don't compete with conversions; leaving them unused is leaving structural tax reduction on the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn't bracket-fill Roth conversion enough for a $5M+ pre-tax balance?
There usually isn't enough room between your current bracket and the top of the 24% or 32% bracket to convert a balance that large in the years before RMDs begin, without pushing conversion income straight through the top of every bracket. Conversions remain the starting point, but a household this size typically needs several additional tools that don't compete with conversions for bracket space: QCDs, the one-time CRT/CGA election, QLACs, NUA on company stock, and donor-advised fund bunching.
What is the one-time QCD election to a charitable remainder trust?
Under SECURE 2.0, each IRA owner gets exactly one lifetime opportunity to direct up to $55,000 of their Qualified Charitable Distribution to fund a charitable remainder trust (CRT) or a charitable gift annuity (CGA), instead of an outright gift. This turns a portion of your RMD-satisfying gift into a lifetime income stream for you or a named beneficiary, with the remainder passing to charity. The $55,000 counts inside your annual QCD ceiling and the election can only be used once, ever, per person.
What happens if I roll company stock into an IRA without checking for NUA first?
You permanently forfeit Net Unrealized Appreciation treatment on that stock. NUA lets you pay ordinary income tax only on a stock's original cost basis in the year of a qualifying lump-sum distribution, with the embedded appreciation taxed later at long-term capital gains rates instead of ordinary rates. Rolling the stock into an IRA instead converts all of that future appreciation into ordinary income on every withdrawal, for good. The decision has to be made before the rollover, not after.
Related Resources
Want to know which of these six actually apply to you?
The guide is the framework. Your specific balances, cost basis, charitable intent, and timeline determine which tools carry the most weight. Singh PWM is a flat-fee CFP® and Enrolled Agent practice serving Arizona pre-retirees and retirees on a fiduciary basis.
No commitment. No sales agenda. 30 minutes.