My client has done a $6000 contribution to a non-deductible IRA and subsequently converted it to a ROTH IRA in order to accomplish the "Backdoor ROTH", but he also has an inherited IRA (non spousal). However: 1. With a Roth IRA, you get no up-front tax deduction, as you do with a traditional IRA, 401(k) retirement plan or other tax-deferred account. The IRS uses a pro-rata rule which essentially says you can’t cherry-pick the after-tax money out of your IRA to convert, but rather a portion of all pre-tax monies will be assumed to have been converted, triggering a tax consequence on the way over. Therefore, the simplest method involves having one Traditional IRA and one Roth IRA… You attempt the backdoor Roth IRA and convert your new $6,000 non-deductible IRA contribution to Roth IRA. After planning to make a $6,000 Roth IRA contribution, you discover that your modified adjusted gross income is beyond the limit and you are not eligible. We would like to move them to Roth accounts. This is the Pro-Rata rule — a method of determining what money is taxable if you hold both pre- and after-tax money across ALL of your IRAs. But, if the Roth 401(k) is not an option, or you just want to put away even more money to grow tax-free, and you are making too much money for the Roth IRA, enter the “backdoor Roth IRA.” … Convert the non-deductible traditional IRA to a Roth IRA by … Convert the Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. If you do, a portion of your conversion will be subject to income tax via the pro-rata rule. Note that a … But, if the Roth 401(k) is not an option, or you just want to put away even more money to grow tax-free, and you are making too much money for the Roth IRA, enter the “backdoor Roth IRA.” … All owned IRAs, including SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, are included in the pro rata calculation. So you know how to do the Backdoor Roth IRA conversion. If you convert your traditional IRA into a Roth IRA you will be taxed on any deductible IRAs you have when you file your taxes at the end of the year. The pro rata rule will apply. The Backdoor Roth does NOT mean you won’t be taxed. Only conversions from IRAs (including SEP and SIMPLEs as mentioned by @peds) to Roth IRAs are taxed under the pro-rata rule. When you convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, it’s deemed to have come from all your traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs … However, you have to pay attention to the pro-rata rules. SIMPLE IRAs and SEP IRAs are included in the calculation for the pro-rata rule, but not 401(k) plans unless you make a distribution or Roth conversion from a 401(k) in the same year. Robert Brokamp: Backdoor Roths can be a great way for people who earn too much to contribute to the Roth IRA, to get money into a Roth IRA. Pro-rata and Roth conversion Remember, too, that once after-tax money from your QRP is rolled to a Traditional IRA, it is also eligible to be converted to a Roth IRA. The Backdoor Roth IRA and the Aggregation Rule Any existing pretax traditional IRA assets your client holds can make managing taxes a challenge with a backdoor Roth due to the aggregation rule. WBF73 wrote: ↑ Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:01 pm Hello, My husband and I both have money in Vanguard Traditional IRAs (22K and 18.5K respectively). The same pro-rata formula applies … The purpose of this rule is to prevent people from gaming the system by using nondeductible IRAs to move money into a Roth when they "should" first convert the pre-tax IRAs … The limit is the lesser of $6,000 and their taxable comp for the year. But, if the Roth 401(k) is not an option, or you just want to put away even more money to grow tax-free, and you are making too much money for the Roth IRA, enter the “backdoor Roth IRA.” … However, you have to pay attention to the pro-rata rules. A mega backdoor Roth takes this even further. IRA aggregation rules & pro-rata distributions of non-deductible IRA contributions: Simply put, if you have an IRA (or multiple IRAs) with deductible (pre-tax) and non-deductible (after-tax) contributions, then you have to aggregate & pay taxes on a pro-rata basis for any Roth … A mega backdoor Roth offers the opportunity for some investors to contribute up to an extra $37,000 for 2019 to a Roth IRA via their … The barrier to the backdoor Roth—in many folks’ minds—is the pro rata rule. Investing the Traditional IRA in Long-Term Assets and Letting It Sit. So in terms of pro-rata taxes (due to the pre-tax money in the inherited IRA), I have been reading that the inherited IRA … Robert Brokamp: Backdoor Roths can be a great way for people who earn too much to contribute to the Roth IRA, to get money into a Roth IRA. For a long time, it was an unspoken secret used by retirement planners. The problem is that you already have a $60,000 IRA from an old 401(k) from a previous employer.As a result, the Pro Rata Rule requires you to include that as part of the calculation fo… We are aware of the Pro-Rata rule and that the amount in our Traditional IRA accounts need to be $0 by the end of the year in order to avoid the Pro-Rata rule. However, the IRS released guidance that specifically addressed both backdoor Roth IRA conversions, and the so-called Mega Backdoor Roth IRA… You then try a “back door Roth IRA” and make a $6,000 non-deductible IRA contribution (after tax) with the intent to convert it to a Roth IRA and avoid the tax on the conversion. But what if you have pre-tax money in your traditional IRA? Thanks to the pro-rata rule, you’ll need to include both balances when performing the conversion. The pro-rata rule isn't the only … The rule says that you have to aggregate all your IRAs to determine how much income tax you owe when you … Even if you and your spouse file your taxes as “married, filing joint”, the pro-rata rule applies to you separately. If you have high school or college students who are working and earning taxable income, you can contribute to a Roth IRA for them. Despite your IRA, your spouse can still do the backdoor IRA (or vice versa). Emmitt is now a high-earner and cannot make tax-deductible IRA contributions or Roth IRA … The IRS Form 8606 says Enter the value of all your traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs as of December 31, … … That’s the pro-rata rule. … The requirement to be able to apply all of the basis in nondeductible traditional IRA contributions to the Roth conversion is that the balance in traditional IRAs must be zero at the end of the year in which the Roth conversion … There’s no time requirement on when you have to withdraw money, if ever—an appealing option for those wanting to leave the mo… But, if the Roth 401(k) is not an option, or you just want to put away even more money to grow tax-free, and you are making too much money for the Roth IRA, enter the “backdoor Roth IRA.” … If you have an IRA with pre-tax dollars, the pro-rata rule makes it prohibitive to make backdoor Roth IRA contributions. Even though your modified adjusted gross income is too high to contribute to a Roth IRA directly, you can still get in through the backdoor. So, for instance, my 19-year-old earned $4,000 at her jobs in 2020, so my wife and I will put this amount into her Roth … This is the back door Roth IRA conversion. 2. For example, Emmitt has a $100,000 IRA made with pre-tax dollars from many years ago when his income was lower. Let’s say you have a total of $100,000 in tax-deferred dollars between a traditional IRA and a SEP IRA. There has been a lot of talk lately about the mega backdoor Roth IRA. Contributing directly to a Roth IRA is restricted for higher-income individuals; once a married couple has an AGI in excess of $193,000 (or $131,000 for an individual), the maximum … That means that your total balance across all IRAs … How to Create a Backdoor Roth IRA In 2021, single taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of $125,000 face lower Roth IRA contribution limits as their income increases. 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