J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2013: For Preparing Your 2012 Tax Return

7.24 Life Expectancy Tables

IRS unisex actuarial tables must be used if you made any investment in a commercial annuity contract after June 30, 1986. Generally, life expectancies are longer under the unisex tables than under the prior male-female tables. The unisex life expectancy table for single life annuities is IRS Table V from Publication 939, shown above in Table 7-2. The unisex table for ordinary joint life and last survivor annuities is Table VI, in IRS Publication 939.

If your entire investment was before July 1, 1986, you use the older male/female tables. The tables, IRS Tables I through IV, are in Publication 939. Table I, shown above, is for single life expectancies. Table II, for ordinary joint life and last survivor annuities, is in Publication 939.

You may make an irrevocable election to use the unisex tables for all payments received under the contract, even if you did not make an investment after June 30, 1986.

If you invested in the contract both before July 1, 1986, and after June 30, 1986, and you are the first person to receive annuity payments under the contract, you may make a special election to use the prior tables for the pre–July 1986 investment and the unisex tables for the post–June 1986 investment. See IRS Publication 939 for further information. Treasury Regulation 1.72-6(d) has examples showing how to figure the post–June 1986 and pre–July 1986 investments.

Birthday nearest annuity starting date.

In looking up single life or joint life expectancy ...