In 2021 and 2022, you can contribute a total of up to $6,000 ($7,000 if you're 50 or older) to your traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. To minimize the tax risks of a backdoor Roth IRA, make your annual contribution as a lump sum and then immediately perform the Roth conversion.
In short, as of today, the law permits backdoor Roth IRA contributions, and it's generally in investors' best interests to take advantage of them as soon as possible this year.
The BBB Act is passed in 2022, and Backdoor Roth conversions are allowed. This would be the best-case option if the legislation is enacted. The bill is passed and Backdoor Roths are not allowed, but it's based on the date the bill is enacted.
What Now? Of course, Build Back Better didn't pass in 2021. That means that it's perfectly legal to go ahead with backdoor Roth contributions for 2022, too.
Because a backdoor Roth IRA is categorized as a conversion—not a contribution—you cannot access any of the funds held in the converted Roth IRA without penalty for the first five years after conversion. If you do a backdoor Roth IRA conversion every year, you must wait five years to tap each portion you convert.
If you don't have any money sitting in traditional IRA accounts, a backdoor Roth is a smart way to build up retirement savings that will be tax-free in retirement. And it can still make sense if you already have a chunk of savings in traditional IRAs.
A Backdoor Roth conversion can be something to consider if: You've already maxed out other retirement savings options. Are willing to leave the money in the Roth for at least five years (ideally longer!) Do not have other pre-tax IRA assets.
Roth IRA conversion limits
The government only allows you to contribute $6,000 directly to a Roth IRA in 2021 and 2022 or $7,000 if you're 50 or older, but there is no limit on how much you can convert from tax-deferred savings to your Roth IRA in a single year.
You may contribute simultaneously to a Traditional IRA and a Roth IRA (subject to eligibility) as long as the total contributed to all (Traditional and/or Roth) IRAs totals no more than $6,000 ($7,000 for those age 50 and over) for tax year 2021 and no more than $6,000 ($7,000 for those age 50 and over) for tax year ...
IRA one-rollover-per-year rule
You generally cannot make more than one rollover from the same IRA within a 1-year period.
First, the best time to do a Roth conversion is in a lower-income year. If you earn less money than you usually do in any given year, you'll fall into a lower tax bracket. While you'll earn less money overall, this can be an opportunity to convert pre-tax assets to Roth status.
There is the option of converting your traditional IRA into a Roth IRA—called a Roth IRA conversion. Since Roths don't have required minimum distributions, once the funds are in the Roth IRA, you will no longer be required to take RMDs.
You can make backdoor Roth IRA contributions each year. Keep an eye on the annual contribution limits. If your annual contribution limit is $6,000, that's the most you can put into all of your IRA accounts.
In 2022, I made my 10th pair of “backdoor Roth” IRA contributions with Vanguard. It's a great way for high-income professionals to contribute to a Roth IRA when earning “too much” to contribute directly to a Roth IRA.
Younger folks obviously don't have to worry about the five-year rule. But if you open your first Roth IRA at age 63, try to wait until you're 68 or older to withdraw any earnings. You don't have to contribute to the account in each of those five years to pass the five-year test.
There's no age limit or income requirement to be able to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth. You must pay taxes on the amount converted, although part of the conversion will be tax-free if you have made nondeductible contributions to your traditional IRA.
A Roth conversion is the process of repositioning your assets in a Traditional IRA or qualified employer sponsored retirement plan (QRP), such as a 401(k), 403(b), or governmental 457(b) to a Roth IRA.
A mega backdoor Roth is a special type of 401(k) rollover strategy used by people with high incomes to deposit funds in a Roth individual retirement account (IRA). This little-known strategy only works under very particular circumstances for people with plenty of extra money they would like to stash in a Roth IRA.
If you're approaching retirement or need your IRA money to live on, it's unwise to convert to a Roth. Because you are paying taxes on your funds, converting to a Roth costs money. It takes a certain number of years before the money you pay upfront is justified by the tax savings.
Starting in 2022, the bill had proposed to end so-called non-deductible backdoor and mega backdoor Roth conversions. Regardless of income level, you'd no longer be able to convert after-tax contributions made to a 401(k) or a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.
IRA Contribution Limits
This contribution limit applies to all your IRAs combined, so if you have both a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA, your total contributions for all accounts combined can't total more than $6,000 (or $7,000 for those age 50 and up).