When Is the Best Time for a Roth Conversion?

There are a few good times to do it

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Most of us prefer to have a variety of choices in life—caffeine or decaf, paper or plastic, regular or super-sized—but some decisions are more complicated than others. Ever since the Roth IRA option was introduced in the late 1990s, investors have had to choose which type of account to open and whether it makes sense to convert an existing traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.

If you're in that camp, you may be facing a tough decision that will have an important impact on your retirement.

Key Takeaways

  • Roth conversions provide a way to maintain the tax-free benefits of a Roth IRA account when transferring funds from a different retirement account.
  • Another benefit of Roth IRAs is that they are not subject to required minimum distribution (RMD) rules during the owner's lifetime.
  • Converting an IRA is not necessarily for everyone and makes the most sense for those whose tax bracket will go up in retirement.
  • Your retirement time horizon and future beneficiaries should also factor into whether you decide to do a Roth conversion.

Understand the Benefits of Roth IRA Conversions

Roth IRA conversions provide you with the benefits of tax-free, not just tax-deferred, growth. Rather than paying taxes on the withdrawals you take from a traditional IRA in retirement, qualified distributions from a Roth IRA have no tax consequences whatsoever. That's because you would have paid the taxes upfront.

Note

Roth contributions are made with dollars that have already been taxed.

In order to be deemed a qualified distribution, a Roth IRA distribution must be made after a five-taxable-year period of participation and must occur on or after reaching age 59 1/2. In the case of a conversion, five years must pass since the conversion.

Recognize That the Conversion Could Cost You

The problem with Roth IRA conversions is that when the amount of money being converted from a traditional IRA to a Roth is a significant amount, you may end up paying tax on all or part of the money as if you had made a withdrawal. Depending on the size of your actual IRA balance, the taxes due could be a big drag on your retirement nest egg, and you must have funds available to pay the taxes due.

A Roth conversion could actually bump you into a higher marginal tax bracket for the year you convert. To lessen the impact, you could gradually convert from a traditional IRA to a Roth over the course of several tax years.

Note

An effective Roth conversion strategy takes into consideration how much you can convert each year without being pushed into a higher tax bracket.

Keep in Mind the Following General Guidelines

  • Converting your IRA might only be worthwhile if you are highly confident that your tax bracket will go up in retirement. (Converting now would allow you to pay taxes on the money at your current, lower tax rate.)
  • Your retirement time horizon should impact your decision. Think about when you plan to generate income from your IRA. The more time you have to benefit from the tax-free growth of your investment, the better. If retirement is right around the corner, and you plan on relying on your IRA to meet lifestyle income goals, you have less time to allow the tax-free growth of earnings to work in your favor.
  • A Roth IRA conversion is worth considering if you want to transfer wealth tax-free to another generation. Roth IRAs are not subject to Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) rules during the owner's lifetime. At the time of death, Roth IRAs will be subject to a special set of mandatory annual withdrawal rules for heirs.
  • Converting might not be worthwhile if you expect to be in a much lower tax bracket in retirement.
  • State income taxes also have an impact on the Roth conversion decision.
  • If you're going to have to withdraw funds from your IRA to pay the tax on the conversion, consider that your balance will now be reduced. Determine whether the earnings and tax-free withdrawals on a smaller Roth IRA balance outweigh the earnings on a larger traditional IRA balance, minus the income taxes that will have to be paid on withdrawals in retirement.
  • Roth conversions may also help reduce the size of future RMDs starting at the age of 72.

Tools To Help You Make the Roth IRA Conversion Decision

Any decision to convert must be based on your personal financial status, current tax rates, anticipated future tax rates, goals, age, and estate planning intentions. You can also get an initial read on whether a conversion is something to consider by using an online Roth IRA conversion calculator. Running a few before-and-after scenarios with an income tax calculator may also prove helpful.

Note

You probably won't want to make a final decision solely based on the results of an online calculator, but you can at least use them to play around with all of the potential variables and see some of the factors that go into the decision.

Deciding whether or not to convert IRAs can be one of your tougher financial dilemmas. It is hard enough to predict the future, but predicting what future lawmakers will decide to do with income taxes is also difficult. Taking the time to make the best choice now based on your unique financial goals could mean that you'll be in better shape to make choices like travel or start a new hobby when you decide to retire.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Are there any downsides to converting from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA?

Since Roth contributions are made with after-tax dollars, you won't get the advantage of the tax deduction in the year you make the contribution. You're effectively opting for a tax bill now in hopes of avoiding a bigger one in the future. Also, conversion strategies can become quite complex, especially if you have money in multiple accounts.

Can I withdraw funds that I converted to a Roth IRA?

This is tricky. Regular Roth IRAs allow you to withdraw funds at any time without tax consequences or penalties, up to the amount you have already contributed. This is because you have already paid taxes on this money. However, when the funds were converted from a traditional IRA or another type of retirement account into a Roth IRA, you must wait five years before you can withdraw funds without penalty.

Is it legal to do a backdoor Roth?

A "backdoor" Roth is just a casual term for a type of Roth conversion. Even though it sounds sneaky, it's a legitimate strategy, so long as you play by the rules. Backdoor Roth IRAs let high-income earners avoid the regular income limits on a Roth IRA by moving funds from an account that does not have income restrictions into a Roth, thereby bypassing the income limits set by the IRS. However, when you do a Roth conversion like this, the funds are still subject to taxation and other IRS rules.

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Sources
The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Congressional Research Service. "Individual Retirement Account (IRA) Ownership: Data and Policy Issues," Page 1.

  2. Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 590-B: Distributions From Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)," Pages 31-33.

  3. Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)," Pages 28, 43-44.

  4. Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 590-B: Distributions From Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)," Page 36.

  5. Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 590-B: Distributions From Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)," Page 7.

  6. Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 590-B: Distributions From Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)," Pages 31-32.

  7. Congressional Research Service. "Rollovers and Conversions to Roth IRAs and Designated Roth Accounts: Proposed Changes in Budget Reconciliation," Page 2.

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