Roth Conversion Calculator

Use the bracket-headroom solver. It compares your modeled taxable income before the conversion with the top of the selected 12% bracket and calculates the taxable conversion amount associated with reaching that ceiling.

The available amount is the difference between your modeled taxable income and the top of the 12% bracket, adjusted if only part of the conversion is taxable. Crossing the threshold does not cause earlier income to be taxed at 22%.

The taxable portion of a Roth conversion is generally included in gross income for the conversion year. The amount that is taxable therefore can increase AGI and other income measures.

A taxable Roth conversion generally increases AGI and can therefore increase Marketplace MAGI. Marketplace premium-tax-credit eligibility and savings depend on household MAGI and other eligibility requirements.

A conversion can increase MAGI used for Medicare’s income-related premium calculations. Medicare generally uses tax information from two years earlier, so the effect can occur in a later Medicare premium year.

Future IRMAA thresholds may not yet be published. The calculator should distinguish current published thresholds from future unknown thresholds instead of assuming today’s dollar limit will remain unchanged.

No. Required minimum distributions are not eligible rollover distributions. An RMD required for the year generally must be handled separately before additional eligible retirement money is converted.

If you have nondeductible basis in traditional, SEP or SIMPLE IRAs, the taxable portion generally cannot be determined by selecting only one account’s after-tax dollars. Form 8606 is used to calculate and report applicable basis and conversions.

Generally, each taxable conversion or rollover has a separate five-tax-year period for purposes of the 10% additional tax on certain early distributions. This is different from the five-year rule for qualified Roth IRA earnings.

For a calendar-year taxpayer, the conversion five-year period begins January 1 of the tax year in which the conversion occurs, rather than the exact date the money was converted.

Roth IRA conversions made after 2017 generally cannot be recharacterized back to a traditional IRA. This is different from certain contribution recharacterizations.

The income limits applying to direct Roth IRA contributions do not prohibit an otherwise eligible traditional IRA amount from being converted solely because income is high.

The calculator can model either source. Paying from outside funds allows the full modeled conversion to reach the Roth, while using retirement funds reduces the amount converted. Amounts distributed but not converted can have additional consequences before age 59½.

No. Federal tax brackets are progressive. Only the portion of taxable income falling inside each bracket is taxed at that bracket’s rate.

An eligible distribution from a qualified workplace plan may be directly rolled to a Roth IRA, with taxable pre-tax amounts generally included in income. Plan distribution rules and rollover eligibility still apply.

A traditional IRA conversion is not prohibited merely because you are employed. Moving workplace-plan assets can depend on whether the employer plan permits an eligible distribution or an in-plan Roth rollover.

The calculator can show the tax effect of the conversion year, but it does not decide when a conversion should occur. Later Social Security, RMDs, filing status, deductions and other income can change future tax comparisons.

Federal tax brackets and Marketplace MAGI rules measure different things. A conversion may stay within one federal marginal bracket while still increasing MAGI enough to change Marketplace premium-tax-credit eligibility or savings.