Roth Conversion: Wrap Up Your Tax Year
One of the most under-utilized strategies that can impact retirement and tax planning is the Roth IRA, including Roth Conversions.
A Roth IRA offers tax-free growth potential, tax-free income distributions and has no Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). Recall with Traditional IRAs the government requires a percentage each year after age 70 ½ be made taxable, regardless if you need the funds.
Despite all the positives of Roth IRAs, confusion reigns on eligibility as people say, “I make too much money and can’t do a Roth”. Wrong.
Anyone, regardless of high income levels, can have a Roth IRA. How you get assets into a Roth is what matters.
Contribute versus convert. You can “contribute” the maximum amount to a Roth for tax year 2019 when Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) is under $193,000 for those Married Filing Jointly. If MAGI is well above, you can’t contribute but you can “convert” assets from a Traditional IRA into a Roth and pay income taxes on the converted amount that was pre-tax money and earnings.
The pro-rata rule and taxes. When converting, the IRS considers all traditional IRA account balances combined and you must figure out the proportion of which is nondeductible contributions, then use this percentage to determine how much of your conversion will not be taxable. You can’t choose to convert only after-tax money; the IRS won’t allow it.
Best to convert at year-end. A conversion must be completed by December 31 and the amount converted is included in that year’s taxable income. By choosing year-end to convert, you reduce the range of MAGI variables and improve chances of converting to the top of your current tax bracket.
Not all-or-nothing. To manage taxes and build larger Roth balances, develop a plan to spread conversions over several years. You can even skip a year or two as needed pending MAGI levels and ability to pay taxes with non-IRA assets.
More to consider beyond this limited space. Add 2017 tax law changes banning conversion reversals (“recharacterization”), it is important to plan ahead and take ownership of retirement and tax planning.
To learn more, talk with your tax professional or Certified Financial Planner.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
Glenn Brown is a Holliston resident and owner of PlanDynamic, LLC, www.PlanDynamic.com. Glenn is a fee-only Certified Financial Planner™ helping motivated people take control of their planning and investing, so they can balance kids, aging parents and financial independence.
This article appeared in the December 2019 editions of Holliston Local Town Pages, Ashland Local Town Pages and Natick Local Town Pages.
Please call me at (508) 834-7733 or directly schedule a meeting to learn more about considerations for planning and investing so you can balance kids, aging parents and your financial independence.
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