@gnelson9 - as noted by many in this thread, the challenge is that once you are 72, you can't stop the income from RMD and social security! One of the ways of reducing the RMDs is to covert SOME of the Traditional IRA to a Roth in the years between retirement and commencing SS and RMD. In these years your taxable income may be rather low compared to your working years and the years when you receive SS and RMDs. You may be able to reduce your tax burden, but it's not really for this form, but rather for a financial planner...
The other thing to watch for, and really can't do anything about, but the year after the first spouse passes, the surviving spouse has to file 'Single" which has a higher tax brackets for what could be very similar income as when both were alive and were filing "joint" It's one of those 'gotcha's from the IRS!
