Ask the Editor, August 8: Tax Questions on Roth IRA Conversions

Each week, in our Ask the Editor series, Joy Taylor, The Kiplinger Tax Letter Editor, answers questions on topics submitted by readers. This week, she’s looking at questions on converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Tax Letter or subscribe.)

1. When to take the annual RMD

Question: My husband owns one traditional IRA. He turns 73 this year and wants to wait until the first quarter of 2026 to take his first annual required minimum distribution (RMD). Can he do a Roth IRA conversion in 2025 before taking his first RMD in early 2026?

Joy Taylor: No. Traditional IRA owners who are 73 and older must take annual RMDs. People of RMD age who are considering a Roth IRA conversion must first take their annual RMD for the year before doing the conversion. A person who turns 73 in 2025 can wait until April 1, 2026, to take the first RMD. But that first RMD, even if delayed, is still an RMD for 2025 and is based on the IRA balances as of Dec. 31, 2024. Your husband has two choices: He can take his 2025 RMD from his traditional IRA this year and then do a 2025 Roth conversion. Or he can defer taking his 2025 RMD until no later than April 1, 2026, and do the Roth conversion after that date.

2. Multiple traditional IRAs

Question: I have four traditional IRAs. I want to convert a part of one of my IRAs to a Roth this year. I know I have to take my annual RMD for 2025 before I do the Roth conversion. How does this rule work for people with multiple IRAs?

Joy Taylor: For people with multiple traditional IRAs, the rule that you must take your annual RMD before doing a Roth conversion for the year can be tricky. That’s because if a person has multiple traditional IRAs, the total aggregate RMD for the year must be withdrawn during the year before doing a Roth conversion from any of the traditional IRAs (Note that this doesn’t include RMDs from 401(k)s or other workplace retirement plans.) For example, say your 2025 aggregate RMD from your four traditional IRAs is $68,526. If you want to do a Roth conversion from any of your four traditional IRAs in 2025, you must first take your 2025 aggregate RMD of $68,526 from any of your traditional IRAs that you choose and then do the Roth conversion for the year. Note that this RMD twist involving Roth conversions and multiple traditional IRAs is pretty new. It was enacted in late 2022 in the SECURE 2.0 Act.

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3. Tax implications

Question: I am thinking about doing a Roth conversion this year. I know that I will owe income tax on the converted funds. Are there any other adverse tax impacts I should know about?

Joy Taylor: You nailed the biggest income tax implication in your question. The converted funds will be subject to income tax for the year of the conversion. And if your Roth IRA assets go down in value soon after the conversion, you cannot undo the conversion. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ended so-called recharacterizations of Roth conversions. So you are stuck with your original income tax bill from the conversion.

Note that the additional income from converting can trigger higher adjusted gross income (AGI) on your 2025 tax return. A higher AGI could preclude you from taking deductions that have AGI income threshold limitations. And there are lots of these types of deductions. For example, the recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” provides several new deductions for 2025, including a $6,000 senior deduction for filers who are 65 and older, and deductions for qualified tips, qualified overtime compensation and auto loan interest. These all have AGI thresholds that are aimed at preventing individuals with higher income levels from using these breaks. A higher AGI could also impact your ability to deduct medical expenses if you itemize on Schedule A.

For Medicare recipients, the additional income from a Roth conversion can trigger higher Medicare premiums. Individuals with 2023 modified AGIs over $212,000 for joint filers and $106,000 for single filers pay a monthly surcharge in 2025 for Parts B and D coverage on top of their regular premiums. These figures will be somewhat higher for 2025 modified AGI used for figuring 2027 monthly Medicare premium surcharges. Income from converting from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA is included in the calculation of modified AGI.

4. Nonspouse beneficiary of inherited IRA

Question: Can a nonspouse beneficiary of an inherited IRA convert it to a Roth IRA?

Joy Taylor: No. A non-spouse beneficiary of an inherited traditional IRA cannot convert it to a Roth IRA. The beneficiary can, however, take taxable distributions from the traditional IRA over time and contribute the post-tax money to a Roth IRA, subject to the Roth IRA annual contribution limits, provided the person has sufficient taxable compensation and the person’s AGI in the year of the contribution doesn’t exceed certain limits.

For 2025, the Roth IRA contribution limit is $7,000, $8,000 for individuals age 50 and older. The AGI limits start at $150,000 for single filers and $236,000 for joint filers.

5. Five-Year rules for Roth IRAs

Question: I understand that to withdraw money from a Roth IRA without paying tax or a penalty on the earnings, the account owner must have had the money in the Roth IRA for at least five years and be age 59½ or older. My question relates to when the five-year clock starts when contributions are made over several years. Also, do the rules differ for Roth IRA conversions?

Joy Taylor: There are actually two five-year rules that apply to Roth IRAs. The first applies to Roth IRA contributions, including rollovers and conversions, and whether distributed earnings are tax-free to you. Under this rule, distributions of earnings after age 59½ aren’t taxed if at least five tax years have passed since the owner first contributed to a Roth IRA. For this first five-year rule, the five-year clock starts the first time that money is deposited into any Roth IRA that you own, through either a contribution or a conversion from a traditional IRA. The clock doesn’t start for later Roth contributions, conversions, or for newly opened Roth IRA accounts.

The second five-year rule applies specifically to Roth IRA conversions, and whether the 10% early distribution penalty hits pre-age-59½ payouts. This rule is an anti-abuse rule to prevent people who are younger than 59½ from circumventing the early IRA withdrawal penalty by first doing a Roth conversion and soon thereafter taking the money out of the Roth IRA. That’s because the 10% early withdrawal penalty doesn’t hit Roth IRA conversions. This second five-year rule doesn’t apply to new contributions to Roth IRAs, but to conversions of pre-tax income from traditional IRAs to a Roth. Under this rule, if someone who is younger than 59½ does a Roth conversion, and later takes a distribution within five years of the conversion and before turning 59½, then the amount of conversion principal that is withdrawn is hit with the 10% penalty. Once you turn 59½, you needn’t worry, even if you take a payout before your conversion meets the five-year period. Under this second five-year rule, each conversion has its own separate five-year period, which differs from the first five-year rule discussed above. For instance, if you do multiple Roth IRA conversions, there will be multiple five-year time periods, even if each conversion is done into the same Roth IRA account that you have owned for years.

For more information on the two Roth IRA five-year rules, see what to know about the five-year rules for Roth IRAs.

About Ask the Editor, Tax Edition

Subscribers of The Kiplinger Tax Letter, The Kiplinger Letter and The Kiplinger Retirement Report can ask Joy questions about tax topics. You'll find full details of how to submit questions in each publication.
Subscribe to The Kiplinger Tax Letter, The Kiplinger Letter or The Kiplinger Retirement Report.

We have already received many questions from readers on topics related to tax changes in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” charitable contributions and more. We will answer these in a future Ask the Editor round-up. So keep those questions coming!

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