What's new in 1.8.1: • 2026 IRS limits applied across the board (HSA, FPL, contribution caps) • ACA cliff warnings now show what you actually owe — repaid subsidies, not just lost ones • Scenario Builder reordered: contributions first, conversions last — plan in the order that matters • See exactly how your taxable income is built, line by line • Plus dozens of fixes from beta-tester and Financial Planner feedback

A visual refresh focused on clarity. Colors now mean one thing each: green for what you save, amber for deadlines that need attention, red for errors only. Charts use their own palette so data never blends into dollars. New buttons, cards, and badges throughout make every screen easier to scan at a glance. Behind the scenes: 21 new accessibility contrast tests, a stronger foundation for the features coming in 1.9.

Bug fixes and clarity improvements based on beta-user feedback: • Fixed: tiny Roth conversions could show a wildly inflated tax impact in California and other states that exempt Social Security from state tax. • Fixed: dragging the Roth Conversion or Withdrawal sliders now correctly updates the adjacent dollar field (and vice versa). • Fixed: Roth Conversion is no longer available as an income type — it's now exclusively modeled via the Scenarios slider, which prevents the value being double-counted. Existing entries are migrated automatically on first launch. • Clearer labels: "Prior Year State Tax Balance" → "2025 State Tax Balance" (auto-updates each plan year). W-2 Box 1 / Box 2 / Box 17 hints on the income form. "Ordinary Dividends" / "Taxable Interest" pair naturally with their tax-advantaged counterparts. • "Life Expectancy" reframed as "Planning Horizon Age" with guidance to pick conservatively (95 is a common default). • Standard tax amounts now render in the default neutral color instead of red. Red is reserved for penalties, deadlines, and adverse changes — making the dashboard feel like a calm statement of fact rather than a five-alarm fire. • Smaller polish: spouse vs. primary RMD-status labels are now consistent; the Legacy Impact "Roth wins" text now invites you to adjust your inputs and watch it move.

Thanks to Fred L. continued testing of the pre-SECURE stretch feature, plus an independent tax-rule audit, this build corrects several inherited-IRA RMD calculations. Older inherited IRAs in the projection chart. The bar graph and year-by-year projection no longer mistakenly show 100% of the balance as a year-1 RMD for pre-2020 inherited IRAs. The projection now uses the same grandfathered lifetime-stretch rules as the current-year RMD display. Inherited Roth IRAs with eligible designated beneficiaries. Non-spouse EDBs of a Roth (disabled, chronically ill, minor child, not-more-than-10-years-younger) now correctly take annual stretch RMDs instead of showing $0. Spouse-beneficiary of a Roth continues to show $0 as a conservative proxy for the IRS deferral rule that lets a surviving spouse delay distributions until the year the decedent would have reached RMD age. Stretch calculation method for disabled, chronically ill, and minor-child beneficiaries. Switched from annual life-expectancy recalculation to the non-recalculation method (initial SLE factor reduced by 1 each year), matching Treas. Reg. §1.401(a)(9)-5(d)(3). The numeric impact is small at younger ages but can differ by thousands of dollars for older beneficiaries with long elapsed time since inheritance. Minor-child at age of majority. When the 10-year window begins, the annual RMD schedule now continues from the original year-after-death stretch instead of resetting to a new factor at age 21, matching the 2024 final regulations (T.D. 10001). Still on the roadmap (not in this build): Precise modeling of the spousal-Roth deferral-until-decedent's-RMD-age rule (requires decedent birth year for Roth accounts). Non-designated beneficiaries (estates, charities, non-qualifying trusts) — 5-year rule and "ghost life expectancy" rule. Inherited IRA balance field will be relabeled as "Dec 31 prior year FMV" (IRS requires the prior-year-end value, not current balance, for exact RMD). No changes to any other calculator. Existing scenarios, Social Security, Roth conversion, and tax projections are unaffected.

Revised "What's New in v1.7 Major legacy planning enhancements: Roth-conversion and RMD math now models your heir's federal tax progressively, based on the heir's salary and filing status. A new Family Wealth Impact sensitivity row shows the net gain at your heir's salary −25% / current / +25% so you can see how much the answer depends on that estimate — one of the most uncertain inputs in long-horizon planning. Inherited IRA support expanded for pre-SECURE-Act accounts (original owner died before January 1, 2020). These beneficiaries are grandfathered into the classic lifetime stretch using the Single Life Expectancy Table. The app now produces the correct RMDs for both grandfathered and post-SECURE inherited accounts, with a "Pre-SECURE stretch" badge on the Accounts screen. Social Security Couples Strategy refinements: The claiming-age matrix now focuses on ages still available to you, and the lifetime-benefit calculation aligns with your current date. If you're near or past Full Retirement Age, you'll see only the choices you can still act on. Usability: • Tapping anywhere on the Social Security benefit entry rows opens the keyboard — not just the narrow text field • Heir settings are simpler when your primary heir is your spouse (redundant fields hidden) • Optional "Heir's Birth Year" field flags Kiddie Tax considerations if the heir would be under 24 at the projected inheritance year • Bracket-crossing warning appears when a projected distribution pushes the heir into a higher tax bracket than their salary alone Clearer assumptions behind long-term projections: Decades-out estimates of heir finances involve inherent simplifications, and v1.7 surfaces more of them so you can weigh results against the math: • A scope note under the heir tax stats names what is not modeled (state income tax, Medicare IRMAA, NIIT, AMT, and inflation-adjusted future brackets) and the rough magnitude of their combined effect • New QCD-and-Roth interaction callout: converted Roth dollars are no longer available for QCDs — worth weighing if long-term charitable giving is a goal • When "return on taxes paid" comes back exceptionally high, the app suggests verifying your growth-rate and conversion-amount assumptions. Large numbers are often mathematically correct, but they depend on inputs worth double-checking. Sources & References: A new section in the Guide and Settings cites the IRS publications, SSA data, and state tax authorities the app uses — so you can verify any calculation against its source. Thanks to beta testers for detailed feedback that shaped this release.

Updated app name. Thanks for using RetireSmartIRA

What's New in Version 1.5 • Social Security overhaul — Spousal top-up calculation, couples claiming optimizer with 9×9 strategy matrix, and support for "already receiving" benefits • Safe harbor & quarterly tax engine — Prior-year and current-year safe harbor methods with state-specific rules for 25+ states, Form 2210 detection, and payment timing guidance • Smart SALT — Estimated state tax payments now auto-calculate and include in your SALT deduction • Enhanced dashboard — New state tax bracket chart, NIIT threshold position, expandable federal/state tax breakdown, and legacy strategy summary • iPad sidebar navigation — Responsive layout that adapts to screen width across all views • Richer scenario planning — IRMAA inline warnings, Roth conversion framing notes, section reordering for RMD-age users, and legacy growth rate slider • PDF export improvements — Safe harbor comparison, SALT breakdown, and Form 2210 warnings now included in exports

What's New in Version 1.4 • State-level itemized deductions — When you itemize on your federal return, state tax calculations now correctly use your itemized deductions instead of the standard deduction, giving you more accurate state tax estimates. • California exemption credits — California's personal exemption credits are now included in state tax calculations and the State Comparison breakdown. • Taxable income breakdown — The Tax Summary dashboard now shows a detailed line-by-line breakdown of how your taxable income and deductions are calculated. • Tax-Exempt Interest — New income type for municipal bond interest. While tax-exempt, it can affect your Medicare IRMAA premiums — the app highlights this for you. • Improved app icon — Cleaner icon appearance on macOS and iPadOS.

What's New in Version 1.3 • Family Legacy Planning — New wealth projection analysis showing how Roth conversions impact what you leave to heirs, including break-even analysis and interactive charts • "Spouse then Child" heir modeling — Three heir options now available: Spouse, Adult Child, or Spouse then Child (spousal rollover followed by SECURE Act 10-year drawdown) • Redesigned Scenarios tab — Interactive charts for tax bracket impact, IRMAA surcharges, and legacy wealth comparison • State tax comparison improvements — Side-by-side exemption details and savings headline in each state popup • QCD tax savings fix — More accurate Qualified Charitable Distribution calculations • Terms of Use and Privacy Policy acceptance on first launch • Performance improvements and full native macOS compatibility

Updated App Store screenshots. No changes to app functionality.

Version 1.1 is a major update with new charts, tools, and tax accuracy improvements. NEW • 6 interactive charts: income breakdown, tax bracket position, IRMAA thresholds, state comparison, RMD projections, and scenario analysis • PDF export — generate a professional tax report to share with your CPA • Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) calculation • Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) calculation • Inherited IRA and inherited Roth IRA RMD projections (SECURE 2.0 rules) • Quarterly estimated tax payment tracking IMPROVED • State tax engine updated for all 50 states + DC (2026 brackets and rules) • IRMAA calculations now cover Parts B and D with all income tiers • RMD projections extended through age 100 with balance estimates • Scenario planning now shows IRMAA impact for each scenario FIXED • Corrected QCD tax treatment (reduces AGI, not a direct tax credit) • Fixed capital gains tax calculation order of operations • Social Security taxable amount calculation refined • Standard deduction amounts updated for 2026 All features are now completely free. No subscriptions, no in-app purchases.