To spread a Roth conversion over multiple years, you move a portion of your traditional IRA into a Roth each calendar year instead of converting the whole balance at once, sizing each year’s slice to fill a target tax bracket. This guide explains how many years to plan for, how much to convert annually, and which tax cliffs a staged conversion should model together.
A multi-year Roth conversion converts a traditional IRA to a Roth in staged annual amounts, filling a chosen federal bracket each year rather than converting everything in one tax year. There is no dollar cap and no income limit on how much you can convert, each year’s conversion must be completed by December 31, and since 2018 a conversion cannot be reversed (Source: IRS Retirement Plans FAQs regarding IRAs).
How do you spread a Roth conversion over multiple years?
You spread a Roth conversion over multiple years by converting a set dollar amount each calendar year, chosen to bring your taxable income up to the top of a target bracket and no further. The IRS places no annual dollar limit and no income limit on conversions, but each conversion is ordinary income in its year, must settle by December 31, and is irreversible (Source: IRS Retirement Plans FAQs regarding IRAs).
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A Roth conversion is the taxable movement of pre-tax money from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. Because federal tax is progressive, one large conversion can stack income into the 32%, 35%, or 37% brackets, while dividing the balance into annual slices can keep more of each inside a lower target bracket. Staging is the core of the Q3 Roth conversion service.
The mechanics of a multi-year plan follow a repeatable sequence:
- Estimate your other taxable income for the year (pension, interest, dividends, wages, any Social Security).
- Subtract the standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, 2026) to find taxable income before any conversion.
- Convert the difference between your target bracket ceiling and that pre-conversion taxable income, by December 31, then repeat the following year with updated figures.
How many years should you spread a Roth conversion over?
There is no fixed number of years to spread a Roth conversion over. Many plans run five to ten years, but a large pre-tax balance relative to a short runway before required minimum distributions can call for a condensed three-to-five-year schedule that fills a higher bracket sooner. The horizon balances the rate you pay each year against how much of the balance you clear before RMDs begin.
Two forces pull in opposite directions. Stretching conversions keeps each year’s rate low but leaves more of the balance exposed to future RMDs and to the growth that enlarges them. Condensing conversions clears the pre-tax balance faster, which can matter for an IRA millionaire whose gap-years window is short, but may push some conversion income into a higher bracket now.
| Factor | Condensed horizon (about 3 to 5 years) | Stretched horizon (about 7 to 10 years) |
|---|---|---|
| Bracket usually filled | 24% into 32% | 12% into 24% |
| Pre-tax balance left at RMD age | Lower | Higher |
| IRMAA exposure | Higher in the conversion years | Lower per year, spread over more years |
| Rate and legislative risk | Less time exposed to future rate changes | More years exposed to rate changes |
| Often considered when | Runway is short or the balance is very large | Runway is long or income sits near a cliff |
The shorter your runway and the larger your pre-tax balance, the more a compressed schedule tends to enter the conversation, because a long, shallow schedule may not clear enough before RMDs begin. A Roth conversion break-even analysis is one way to test where the trade-off lands.
How much should you convert to a Roth each year?
A common method converts enough to reach the top of a chosen federal bracket, then stops. Start with the 2026 brackets, subtract your other income and the standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly), and convert the room that remains below your target ceiling. Size the amount to the lower of the bracket ceiling and the next IRMAA threshold so one number does not trip both.
The 2026 federal brackets below (Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, via Tax Foundation, 2026) show where each rate ends. The 24% bracket for a married couple runs to $403,550 of taxable income, which is exactly where the 32% bracket begins.
| 2026 rate | Single taxable income | Married filing jointly |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $12,400 | $0 to $24,800 |
| 12% | $12,401 to $50,400 | $24,801 to $100,800 |
| 22% | $50,401 to $105,700 | $100,801 to $211,400 |
| 24% | $105,701 to $201,775 | $211,401 to $403,550 |
| 32% | $201,776 to $256,225 | $403,551 to $512,450 |
| 35% | $256,226 to $640,600 | $512,451 to $768,700 |
| 37% | $640,601 or more | $768,701 or more |
Worked illustration: a married couple with $70,000 of other income and the $32,200 standard deduction has about $38,000 of taxable income before converting. Filling to the top of the 24% bracket ($403,550) leaves roughly $366,000 of conversion room that year, while filling only to the top of the 22% bracket ($211,400) leaves about $174,000. Whether to use all that room depends on the cliffs below. For more on sizing each year, see how much to convert to a Roth.
Is it better to convert all at once or over several years?
It depends on the balance, the horizon, and the cliffs, and neither approach is universally better. A single-year conversion is simpler but can stack income into the 32% to 37% brackets and concentrate IRMAA and NIIT exposure in one year. Spreading the same balance can keep more of each slice in lower brackets, though a schedule stretched too long leaves more exposed to future RMDs.
Consider a $500,000 balance for a married couple with $70,000 of other income. Converting it in one tax year would push a large share into the 32% and 35% brackets, while five slices of $100,000 could keep each year’s income inside the 24% bracket, subject to the same cliffs. This page focuses on the mechanics of staging; for a full side-by-side, see whether multi-year Roth conversions are better or worse than a lump sum.
Can you do more than one Roth conversion in a single year?
Yes. You can do multiple Roth conversions in one year, and there is no limit on the number of conversion transactions or the total dollar amount. Every conversion completed between January 1 and December 31 counts as ordinary income for that same tax year. The once-per-year rule that limits 60-day IRA rollovers does not apply to conversions (Source: IRS Retirement Plans FAQs regarding IRAs).
Splitting a single year’s target into several smaller conversions can be a timing tool: some households convert in tranches and confirm the final amount in December, once other income is close to final. All the tranches land in the same tax year and are added together, so the bracket math is identical to one lump conversion of the same total.
What tax cliffs should a multi-year plan model together?
Conversion income does more than fill a bracket. The same dollar amount can lift Medicare premiums through IRMAA two years later, increase the share of Social Security benefits that is taxed, expose other investment income to the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax, and phase out the OBBBA senior deduction. A multi-year schedule should stress-test these cliffs in the same year, not one at a time.
IRMAA and the two-year lookback
Medicare Part B and Part D premiums rise for higher-income enrollees through the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA). The 2026 standard Part B premium is $202.90 per month, and the first IRMAA tier begins at modified adjusted gross income above $109,000 single or $218,000 joint (Source: CMS 2026 Medicare Part B premium announcement, November 2025). IRMAA uses a two-year lookback, so a 2026 conversion can raise 2028 premiums. The last conversion year that does not affect any Medicare premium is age 62.
Social Security taxation up to 85%
Up to 85% of Social Security benefits can be included in taxable income once combined income passes the applicable thresholds (Source: IRS Publication 915). Because a conversion raises income, it can push more of a benefit into the taxable range in the conversion year. Some households convert before claiming Social Security to reduce that overlap.
The 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax
The 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax applies to net investment income once modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 single or $250,000 married filing jointly (Source: IRC Section 1411; IRS Topic No. 559). The conversion itself is not net investment income, but the higher MAGI it creates can pull your dividends, interest, and capital gains above the threshold. See the detail on the Net Investment Income Tax in 2026.
The OBBBA senior deduction phaseout
For tax years 2025 through 2028, taxpayers age 65 or older may claim an additional $6,000 deduction per person, which phases out at 6% of modified adjusted gross income above $75,000 single or $150,000 joint (Source: One Big Beautiful Bill Act, P.L. 119-21; IRS guidance, 2025). A conversion large enough to cross those thresholds quietly raises the effective marginal rate on the income that phases the deduction out, a cliff that most conversion guides leave out.
State income tax
State treatment of conversion income varies. Some states levy no income tax, while others tax the full conversion as ordinary income, which changes the total rate you pay each conversion year. A planned move across state lines can make timing relevant.
A hypothetical year-by-year conversion schedule
An illustrative schedule ties each year’s conversion ceiling to the specific cliff to watch that year. The table below is a hypothetical, not a real client, a projection, or a recommendation. It assumes a married couple, both age 66 in 2026 and born in 1960, so their first RMD year is 2035 (age 75), holding about $1.4 million in a traditional IRA with roughly $70,000 of other income.
| Year | Age | Target ceiling | Illustrative conversion | Cliff to watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 66 | Top of 24% | ~$366,000 | Senior deduction fully phased out at this income; IRMAA hits two years out |
| 2027 | 67 | Top of 24% | ~$366,000 | IRMAA surcharge from 2026 income begins |
| 2028 | 68 | Top of 24% | ~$366,000 | Social Security, if claimed, adds to taxable income |
| 2029 | 69 | Top of 22% | ~$174,000 | Smaller slice as balance shrinks; NIIT on other investment income |
| 2030 | 70 | As needed | Remainder | Coordinate with the year Social Security starts |
By the time RMDs begin, much of the pre-tax balance has moved to the Roth, shrinking the future forced withdrawals that would otherwise be taxed as ordinary income. The point of the schedule is that the cliffs interact: the same amount that fills the 24% bracket may also trigger IRMAA, tax more of a Social Security benefit, and erase the senior deduction in the same year.
How does the 5-year rule work across multiple conversions?
Each Roth conversion carries its own five-year clock that starts on January 1 of the conversion year. Withdrawing converted principal before that clock ends and before age 59.5 can trigger a 10% penalty on that amount (Source: IRS Publication 590-B). In a multi-year plan, converting in 2026, 2027, and 2028 creates three separate January-1 clocks, so the windows are staggered rather than shared.
This is one reason to pay the conversion tax from a taxable brokerage account rather than from the IRA: pulling converted dollars back out under 59.5 to cover the tax bill can trigger the penalty, and paying from outside funds keeps the full converted amount growing inside the Roth. Most households doing gap-years conversions are already past 59.5, which removes the penalty concern, though the five-year clock still governs tax-free treatment of earnings.
How does converting before RMD age (73 or 75) shrink future taxes?
Required minimum distributions are forced, taxable withdrawals from traditional IRAs beginning at age 73, or age 75 for those born in 1960 or later, first applying in 2035 (Source: SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022). Converting during the gap years before RMDs reduces the balance those distributions are calculated from, which can lower the mandatory taxable income that arrives once the withdrawals become compulsory.
A large pre-tax balance can produce RMDs big enough to fill the higher brackets on their own, and those distributions can also drive IRMAA and Social Security taxation. Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMD for the original owner, and since 2024 Roth balances in employer plans also have no lifetime RMD (Source: SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, Section 325). See required minimum distributions in 2026.
Common mistakes with multi-year Roth conversions
The most common errors in multi-year Roth conversions come from planning one year at a time instead of across the whole horizon. Filling a bracket without modeling RMDs, IRMAA, and Social Security taxation together, stretching the schedule too long, or paying the tax from the IRA itself are the patterns that tend to recur.
- Converting only to the top of the current bracket every year without modeling the lifetime effect of RMDs, IRMAA, and Social Security taxation together.
- Stretching the schedule so long that growth in the traditional IRA outpaces the conversions and RMDs still land large.
- Ignoring the two-year IRMAA lookback and being surprised by higher Medicare premiums.
- Paying the tax from the IRA itself, which shrinks the amount that reaches the Roth and can trigger a penalty under age 59.5.
- Missing the December 31 deadline, since a conversion cannot be booked to the prior year the way a contribution can.
- Assuming a conversion can be undone. It cannot be reversed for any conversion made on or after January 1, 2018 (Source: IRS Retirement Plans FAQs regarding IRAs).
Work with Q3 Advisors
Q3 Advisors is a registered investment adviser focused on retirement tax planning. This page is educational and is not advice; consult a qualified professional.
Frequently asked questions
How many years should you spread a Roth conversion over?
There is no single answer. Many plans use a five-to-ten-year window, but a larger pre-tax balance relative to a short gap-years runway can call for a more condensed three-to-five-year schedule. The horizon balances the bracket you fill each year against how much of the balance you want converted before RMDs begin at age 73 or 75 (Source: SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022).
Is it better to do a Roth conversion all at once or over multiple years?
It depends on the balance, the horizon, and the cliffs. A single-year conversion is simpler but can stack income into the 32% to 37% brackets and concentrate IRMAA and NIIT exposure. Spreading conversions can keep more of each slice in lower brackets, though stretching too long leaves more exposed to future RMDs (Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32).
How much should I convert to a Roth IRA each year?
A common method converts enough to reach the top of a chosen bracket, then stops. Using the 2026 brackets, a married-filing-jointly household can estimate room by subtracting other income and the $32,200 standard deduction from a bracket ceiling (Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32). The right amount also depends on the IRMAA, Social Security, and NIIT thresholds in that year.
Can you do multiple Roth conversions in one year?
Yes. There is no cap on the number of conversion transactions or the total amount you convert in a single year, and every conversion completed by December 31 counts as ordinary income for that tax year (Source: IRS Retirement Plans FAQs regarding IRAs). The once-per-year limit on 60-day IRA rollovers does not apply to conversions.
What is the 5-year rule for Roth conversions?
Each conversion has its own five-year clock that starts on January 1 of the year of that conversion (Source: IRS Publication 590-B). Withdrawing converted principal before that clock ends and before age 59.5 can trigger a 10% penalty. In a multi-year plan, converting in 2026, 2027, and 2028 creates three distinct clocks.
Will a Roth conversion increase my Medicare premiums?
It can. IRMAA uses modified adjusted gross income from two years earlier, so a 2026 conversion can raise 2028 Part B and Part D premiums. The 2026 standard Part B premium is $202.90 per month, with the first surcharge tier starting above $109,000 single or $218,000 joint (Source: CMS 2026 Medicare Part B premium announcement, November 2025).
At what age should you stop doing Roth conversions?
Conversions have no age limit, but the gap years before RMDs begin at 73 or 75 are often when there is the most room in the lower brackets (Source: SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022). Once RMDs start, they must be taken first and cannot be converted, which reduces the room available for additional conversions.
Sources
- IRS, Rev. Proc. 2025-32, 2026 inflation adjustments (standard deduction and brackets), October 2025.
- Tax Foundation, 2026 Federal Income Tax Brackets (from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026.
- IRS, Retirement Plans FAQs regarding IRAs (conversion mechanics, no dollar or income limit, irreversibility since 2018), irs.gov.
- IRS, Publication 590-B (five-year rule and early-withdrawal penalty).
- IRS, Publication 915 (taxation of Social Security benefits).
- IRC Section 1411; IRS Topic No. 559 (Net Investment Income Tax).
- SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, Sections 107 and 325; Congressional Research Service report IF12750 (RMD ages 73 and 75).
- CMS, 2026 Medicare Part B premium announcement, November 2025 (Part B premium and IRMAA first tier).
- One Big Beautiful Bill Act, P.L. 119-21, signed July 4, 2025 (top-rate permanence, senior deduction).
