If youre like most people, you probably own a few IRAs, a 401(k), and a Roth IRA. And, if youre like most people you might have a wee bit of trouble keeping track of all the key dates associated with those and other retirement accounts.

Yes, Uncle Sam didnt make it easy on those of you saving for and living in retirement. IRAs have numerous deadlines that people need to be aware of, said Jeffrey Levine, an IRA technical consultant with Ed Slott and Co. Most of the time, missing a key deadline is an irrevocable and irreparable mistake. Even in the rare cases when a deadline mistake can be fixed, the solution tends to be costly and time consuming.

Thankfully, however, there are plenty of folks, including Levine, who know the key dates for you to put on the calendar nowbefore the rest of the year gets away from you. (In other words, enjoy August.)

Sept. 30

Anyone who is inheriting an IRA from someone who died in 2011 should pay close attention to the Sept. 30, 2012 cash out date, said Levine. This is the last day to pay offcash outa beneficiary of an account so that they will not be considered when calculating required minimum distributions or RMDs from an inherited IRA.

Yes, Sept. 30 is the deadline by which certain beneficiaries must be removed from inherited IRAs, according to Denise Appleby, editor of IRA News, Views, and Tips.

Generally, if you are one of multiple beneficiaries, you are required to use the life-expectancy of the oldest beneficiary in the group to calculate your RMD amounts, Appleby said. If you are one of the younger beneficiaries, using the life-expectancy of the oldest beneficiary can reduce the amount of time over which you have to distribute your inherited IRA, and can negatively impact income tax and tax planning opportunities.

This issue is compounded if one of the many beneficiaries is whats called a nonperson such as a charity or an estate. That might require the amount to be distributed over an even shorter period, said Appleby.

So, if the IRA owner died in 2011, you can avoid this problem by removing older and nonperson beneficiaries by Sept. 30 of this year, said Appleby. Of note, she said, this removal process requires older and nonperson beneficiaries to take full distributions of their amounts by Sept. 30, 2012, or the older beneficiaries to properly disclaim their portion by Sept. 30, 2012.

Levine offered this example: Lets say a 65-year old died in 2011 and leaves their IRA 50/50 to their only child and the Red Cross, a charity. Since the Red Cross is not a designated beneficiary, if they were not cashed out by Sept. 30, 2012, the entire inherited IRA might have to be withdrawn within five years. On the other hand, if the Red Cross received their entire share of the inherited IRA and were cashed out, the child would be able to use his/her remaining life expectancy (as determined by IRS tables) to calculate their inherited IRA RMDs, allowing for increased tax-deferral and minimizing Uncle Sams bite.

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Don’t Miss These Critical Retirement Deadlines