Withdrawal plan for IRA to reduce impact upon death of spouse

[Spot]

Background and some easy numbers for hopefully easy math.

Quick facts:
MFJ, both 65+, both on Medicare A+B (nothing else), both have NOT filed for Social Security, no income except IRA interest.

Living expenses paid from a 1M traditional IRA which currently generates about $2,500 in interest income each month.
Projected income for 2023 about $34k which is more than is needed
Medicare premiums are paid from an HSA account with about $45k balance
No debt.

Trying to come up with a plan for easy withdrawal between now and age 70 when both (if alive) will file for Social Security, have a few more years to go. Understand that RMD's don't start until about 72/73.

Trying also to come up with a plan, should one of us die before 70 and the burden or inherited IRA occurs in combination of also possibly being close to 70 and having now full benefit of the larger earning spouse Social Security (about 4,500/month).

Have discussed using QCD's to ease the tax burden for the surviving spouse.

Any suggestions or online calculators or spreadsheets to model these variables?

[gocurrycracker]

Hi Spot

Sounds like you are looking at a 3-5 year plan. Over the short term, market volatility will probably play a much bigger role than any planning exercise.

What is your main concern? Are you in ill health?

I touch on some of the financial aspects for a surviving spouse here:
https://www.gocurrycracker.com/the-real-death-tax/

The difference in tax for MFJ vs Single on 32k income is small (~$1500, 12% marginal vs 10%.)

With $80k income (SS and early RMDs), the delta is larger (~$4k, 22% marginal vs 12%.)

In both cases it is about 5% of income...

You can do Roth conversions up to the top of the 12% tax bracket or the point where Medicare B premiums would increase (whichever is smaller) between now and RMDs begin to save some of that 10% marginal rate difference

In addition to QCDs the surviving spouse can decline to inherit the spousal IRA and pass it on to heirs

[Spot]

Market moves one way or the other does not affect or interest
us in any way as we have just Cash accounts with brokerage
and the $2,500 is just simple interest (no bonds, no stocks)
Should interest rates goback down to zero, no issues with that.

For 2023 (to be filed in 2024), the 12% top is $89,450
Taxed as $2,200 plus 12% of the amount over $22,000
 89,450-22,000 = 67,450 * 0.12 = $10,294 tax owed

Ok to make one IRS 1040ES payment 12/2023 via EFTPS
or should it be made in quarterly payments or even early 2024?

In case it matters, have not made any IRS tax payments for
over a decade due to too small of income and kept it
that way deliberately to get maximum ACA subsidy before
moving over to Medicare.

[gocurrycracker]

For estimated taxes, they are due when the income is earned or quarterly.

If you make IRA withdrawals / Roth conversion in Q4, you can pay it all in Q4. If one withdrawal in Q1, can pay quarterly.

Since no tax burden in prior year, you may not need to pay anything at all until April'24
https://www.gocurrycracker.com/avoiding-tax-penalties/

You can pay via EFTPS or I would do it with a credit card to get the signup bonus (worth more than the fee.)