You may not need a Backdoor Roth Conversion if you are able to meet your savings goals with the maximum retirement limit through your workplace retirement account and are not expecting a need for additional savings for your retirement plan.
If your federal income tax bracket is 32% or higher, doing a Backdoor Roth IRA is a terrible, terrible idea. It is highly unlikely you will be making more money, and thereby being in a higher tax bracket in retirement! It's nice to have tax-free money you can withdraw from in retirement.
As of March 2022, the Backdoor Roth IRA is still alive. Therefore, any taxpayer making more than $214,000 in income and is married and filing jointly can make an after-tax Traditional IRA contribution and then potentially do a tax-free Roth IRA conversion.
Why create a backdoor Roth IRA? If you earn too much money to open a Roth IRA, you may still want to do so for the tax advantage of eventually being able to withdraw funds without paying taxes on the distribution. This is particularly useful if you expect to be in a higher tax bracket in the future.
Is a backdoor Roth IRA worth it? It really depends on your individual circumstances. Most people won't make more in retirement than while working, though, so their tax rate in retirement likely will be lower than while working. As a result, doing a Roth IRA conversion is probably not worth it for most people.
Despite the nickname, the “Rich Person's Roth” isn't a retirement account at all. Instead, it's a cash value life insurance policy that offers tax-free earnings on investments as well as tax-free withdrawals.
Backdoor and mega backdoor Roth
In a backdoor Roth, investors make a non-deductible contribution to a traditional IRA and then quickly convert to a Roth IRA. Once the money is in a Roth IRA, it's tax-free when taken out (if you meet the holding period and age requirements).
The backdoor Roth IRA strategy is still currently viable, but that may change at any time in 2022. Under the provisions of the Build Back Better bill, which passed the House of Representatives in 2021, high-income taxpayers would be prevented from making Roth conversions.
On April 5, you could convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. However, the conversion can't be reported on your 2021 taxes. Because IRA conversions are only reported during the calendar year, you should report it in 2022.
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. You might put the entire amount into your backdoor Roth.
The backdoor Roth IRA strategy is still currently viable, but that may change at any time in 2022. Under the provisions of the Build Back Better bill, which passed the House of Representatives in 2021, high-income taxpayers would be prevented from making Roth conversions.
Reduce adjusted gross income
If you're planning a Roth conversion, you may consider reducing adjusted gross income by contributing more to your pretax 401(k) plan, Lawrence suggested. You may also leverage so-called tax-loss harvesting, offsetting profits with losses, in a taxable account.
But even when you're close to retirement or already in retirement, opening this special retirement savings vehicle can still make sense under some circumstances. There is no age limit to open a Roth IRA, but there are income and contribution limits that investors should be aware of before funding one.
Again, backdoor Roth IRA contributions are considered taxable income. Kicking in too much could inadvertently push you into a higher tax bracket and trigger a hefty bill when you file your next tax return.
While the legislation has not become law, the Build Back Better Act was set to eliminate the backdoor Roth IRA strategy as of Jan. 1, 2022.
The mega backdoor Roth allows you to save a maximum of $61,000 in your 401(k) in 2022. How does this add up? The regular 401(k) contribution for 2022 is $20,500 ($27,000 for those 50 and older) and you can put an additional $40,500 of after-tax dollars into your 401(k) account assuming you don't get an employer match.
To create a backdoor Roth, deposit the maximum amount permitted in a traditional IRA. Since these monies are taxed (you are prohibited from contributing to a traditional IRA tax free), the backdoor Roth is completed by immediately converting the traditional IRA into a tax-free Roth IRA (hence, the backdoor!)
Roth IRA contributions are done with after-tax funds, meaning the income taxes were likely withheld from your paycheck. But if you're completing a backdoor Roth IRA, you'll pay income taxes on the funds at the time of the conversion.
A mega backdoor Roth 401(k) conversion is a tax-shelter strategy available to employees whose employer-sponsored 401(k) retirement plans allow them to make substantial after-tax contributions in addition to their pretax deferrals and to transfer their contributions to an employer-designated Roth 401(k).
You got money into a Roth IRA through the backdoor when you aren't eligible for contributing to it directly. That's why it's called a Backdoor Roth. You will pay tax on a small amount in earnings if you waited between contributions and conversion.
Backdoor Roth IRA Contribution Limits
The IRS limits for contributions for traditional IRAs exist when contributing to a backdoor Roth IRA because investors are opening a traditional IRA to begin with. 2022 Roth IRA contributions limits: $6,000 for everyone under 50.
Specifically, ProPublica found that Buffett has $20.2 million in his Roth IRA at the end of 2018, while his top lieutenant at Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett's holding company, has even more in a Roth -- $264.4 million.
Key Points. A Roth IRA can be a great partner on your financial journey if you're seeking to build a million-dollar portfolio. For 2022, you can contribute up to $6,000 to a Roth IRA if you're under 50. If you make the most of your annual contributions, you can turn $6,000 into $1 million before you retire.