Back Door Roth IRA Rules and Steps

by | Dec 11, 2018 | Investing

Roth IRAs can be established and funded for high-income earners by using what is known as the “back door” Roth IRA contribution method. Many high-income earners believe that they can’t contribute to a Roth IRA because they make too much money and/or because they participate in a company 401(k) plan. Fortunately, this isn’t true.

While direct contributions to a Roth IRA are limited to taxpayers with income in excess of $129,000 ($191,000 for married taxpayers), those whose income exceeds these amounts may make annual contributions to a non-deductible Traditional IRA and then convert those amounts over to a Roth IRA. Our IRA company – Directed IRA – can help those who want a self-directed “back door” Roth IRA, but the strategy can be done with almost anyone who wants a Roth IRA.

Examples

Here’s a few examples of earners who can establish and fund a Roth IRA:

  1. “I’m a high-income earner and work for a company who offers a company 401(k) plan. I contribute the maximum amount to that plan each year. Can I establish and fund a Roth IRA?” Yes, even though you are high-income, and even though you participate in a company 401(k) plan, you can establish and fund a Roth IRA. You just have to use the “back door” method.
  2. “I’m self-employed and earn over $200,000 a year; can I have a Roth IRA? Isn’t my income too high?” Yes, you can contribute to a Roth IRA despite having income that exceeds the Roth IRA income contribution limits of $191,000 for married taxpayers and $129,000 for single taxpayers. You just have to use the “back door” method.

The Process

The strategy used by high-income earners to make Roth IRA contributions involves the deposit of non-deductible contributions to a Traditional IRA, and then converting those funds in the non-deductible Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. This is often times referred to as a “back door” Roth IRA. In the end, you don’t get a tax deduction on the amounts contributed, but the funds are held in a Roth IRA and are tax-free upon retirement (just like a Roth IRA). Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Fund a new non-deductible Traditional IRA.

This IRA is “non-deductible” because high-income earners who participate in a company retirement plan (or who has a spouse who does) can’t also make “deductible” contributions to an IRA. However, the account can be funded by non-deductible amounts up to the IRA annual contribution amounts of $5,500 for 2018 ($6,000 for 2019 and forward). The non-deductible contributions mean you don’t get a tax deduction on the amounts contributed to the Traditional IRA. Don’t worry about having non-deductible contributions though, as you’re converting to a Roth IRA, so you don’t want a deduction for the funds contributed. If you did get a deduction for the contribution, you’d have to pay taxes on the amounts later converted to Roth. You’ll need to file IRS form 8606 for the tax year in which you made the non-deductible IRA contributions. The form can be found here.

If you’re a high-income earner and you don’t have a company-based retirement plan (or a spouse with one), then you simply establish a standard deductible Traditional IRA, as there is no high-income contribution limit on Traditional IRAs when you don’t participate in a company plan.

Step 2: Convert the non-deductible Traditional IRA funds to a Roth IRA.

In 2010, the limitations on Roth IRA conversions, which previously restricted Roth IRA conversions for high-income earners, was removed. As a result, all taxpayers are able to covert traditional IRA funds to Roth IRAs since 2010. It was in 2010 that this “back door” Roth IRA contribution strategy was first utilized as it relied on the ability to convert funds from Traditional to Roth. It has been used by tens of thousands of Americans since.

If you have other existing Traditional IRAs, then the tax treatment of your conversion to Roth becomes a little more complicated as you must take into account those existing IRA funds when undertaking a conversion (including SEP and SIMPLE IRAs). If the only IRA you have is the non-deductible IRA, then the conversion is easy because you convert the entire non-deductible IRA amount over to Roth with no tax on the conversion. Remember, you didn’t get a deduction into the non-deductible Traditional IRA so there is not tax to apply on conversions. On the other hand, if you have an existing IRA with $95,000, and you have $5,000 in non-deductible Traditional IRA contributions in another account that you wish to convert to Roth, then the IRS requires you to convert your IRA funds in equal parts deductible (the $95K bucket) and non-deductible amounts (the new $5k) based on the money you have in all Traditional IRAs. So, if you wanted to convert $10,000, then you’d have to convert $9,500 (95%) of your deductible bucket, which portion of conversion is subject to tax, and $500 of you non-deductible bucket, which isn’t subject to tax upon once converted. Consequently, the “back door” Roth IRA isn’t well suited when you have existing Traditional IRAs that contain deductible contributions and earnings from those sums.

There are two workarounds to this Roth IRA conversion problem, and both revolve around moving the existing Traditional IRA funds into a 401(k) or other employer-based plan as employer plan funds are not considered when determining what portions of the Traditional IRAs are subject to tax on conversion (the deductible and the non-deductible). If you participate in an existing company 401(k) plan, then you may rollover your Traditional IRA funds into that 401(k) plan. Most 401(k) plans allow for this rollover from IRA to 401(k), so long as you are still employed by that company. If you are self-employed, you may establish a Solo or owner-only 401(k) plan, and rollover your Traditional IRA into this 401(k). In the end though, if you can’t roll out existing Traditional IRA funds into a 401(k), then the “back door” Roth IRA is going to cause some tax repercussions, as you also have to convert a portion of the existing Traditional IRA funds, which will cause taxes upon conversion. Taxes on conversion aren’t “the end of the world” though, as all of the money that comes out of that Traditional IRA would be subject to tax at some point in time. The only issue is it causes a big tax bill, so plan carefully.

The bottom line is that Roth IRAs can be established and funded by high-income earners. Don’t consider yourself “left out” on one of the greatest tax strategies offered to Americans: The Roth IRA.

GOP Tax Reform and Retirement Accounts

by | Dec 22, 2017 | News

Its official: We have tax reform. But, how does it affect your IRAs, 401(k)s, 529s, Coverdells, and other retirement and education savings accounts? Let’s break down what’s new, what was proposed and didn’t make it, and what stays the same.

New Changes for 2018

There are two major changes effecting retirement, health, and education savings accounts in the bill:

1. Roth re-characterizations are dead.

Account holders will no longer be able to conduct what is known as a Roth re-characterization. A Roth re-characterization occurs when you convert from a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, and then later decide that you would like to go back. This helped those who couldn’t pay the tax on the conversion, or those who saw their account value go down after the conversion as they were able to undo the conversion, wait a period of time, and then reconvert and alter tax years at a lower value. The strategy will still be allowed for those who converted in 2017 and want to undo in 2018, but is unavailable after that. For my prior article outlining how the Roth re-characterization works please refer to my article here.

2. 529s can be used for K-12 private school.

College savings plans known as 529s have been expanded, and can now be used for K-12 expenses up to $10,000 per year. 529 plans remain unchanged as to college expenses, and the $10,000 cap only applies to K-12. Although you do not get a deduction for 529 plan contributions, 529 plans allow for tax-free growth and the funds can be used for education expenses. For a summary of 529 plans, and the differences between 529s and Coverdell ESAs (aka Coverdell IRAs) please refer to my prior article here.

What Was Proposed and Didn’t Make It in the Final Bill

There were a number of proposals that were part of one bill, but were removed before passing through Congress and getting signed by President Trump. These proposals include:

1. Ending Coverdell ESAs (aka Coverdell IRAs).

This proposal was part of the House bill – not included in the Senate bill – and, in the end, changes to Coverdell accounts were removed from the final bill. This is good news as Coverdell ESAs have been used by many as a means to save for their kids’ or grandchildrens’ college expenses. Similar to a 529, there is no tax deduction on contributions, but the funds grow tax-free and are used for college education expenses. The nice thing about a Coverdell, as opposed to a 529, is that you can decide what to invest the account into whether they are stocks, real estate, private companies (LLCs, LPs), or cryptocurrency.

2. Restrict deductible traditional retirement plan contributions.

There were proposals to restrict deductible traditional retirement plan contributions and to force the majority of 401(k) or other employer plan contributions to be Roth. The goal: Raise revenue now. Thankfully, these proposals never made it into the House nor Senate bills.

There were some minor hardship distribution changes for employer plans but other that the items outlined above, Tax Reform was neutral on retirement plans and savings for Americans and sometimes that’s the best you can hope for.

3 Year-End IRA Tips

by | Dec 28, 2016 | News

vgsgn1482893180It’s the end of the year and many IRA investors are stressing about what they need to do by December 31, 2016. Here’s what you need to know for your IRA as it relates to year-end.

1. 2016 Contribution Deadline. First, the good news. You don’t have to make your 2016 contributions by year-end. You have until April 18, 2017 to make your traditional IRA, Roth IRA, or SEP IRA contributions for 2016. Check out the “IRS Year-End Reminders for IRAs” here for more details.

2. Roth Conversions. If you are planning to convert traditional IRA dollars to Roth for 2016, then you must make that conversion by December 31, 2016. If you convert in 2016 (by 12/31/16), then the amount you convert will get reported on your 2016 tax return. For those that have a down year or that simply want to start down the path of moving funds from traditional (tax-deferred funds) to Roth (tax-free), you’ve got to jump on this now. Your IRA custodian will typically have a Roth Conversion form that you complete and return to them. If you are converting cash, then the process is pretty simple as the value of the conversion is the cash amount. If you have a self-directed asset such as real estate or an LLC interest, you will need an appraisal or valuation of that asset in order to convert it to Roth. And lastly, if you’re on the fence about doing a Roth conversion because you’re worried about how much it will cause you in taxes, the IRS allows you to un-do the Roth conversion later in 2017, your funds go back to traditional funds, and you don’t have to pay the tax. This is one of the few things the IRS let’s you un-wind. Check out my prior article on Roth re-characterizations here.

3. The Over 70 1/2 Club. For those over 70 1/2 with traditional IRAs, you are required to take required minimum distributions (“RMD”) from your account each year. The deadline for 2016 RMDs is December 31, 2016. There is a 50% excise tax penalty for failure to take RMDs. In other words, if you don’t distribute the money to yourself from your IRA in time, the IRS will just take half of it to penalize you. Those with Roth IRAs need not worry as Roth IRAs are exempt from RMD. I’ve explained the facts and fiction on RMDs in a prior article you can find here.

So, if you’ve got a Roth conversion or RMD to take for 2016, you better get your “IRA” in gear. If you’re wondering about IRA contributions, don’t worry, you’ve got until April 18, 2017 to make them.