No. Roth conversions do not end in 2028. IRC section 408A has no termination date for conversions, and Public Law 119-21 did not amend it. What ends after December 31, 2028 is the $6,000 senior deduction and three other temporary deductions, which can change the tax on a conversion but not the right to make one.
Where does the 2028 Roth conversion date come from?
The 2028 date traces to four temporary deductions in Public Law 119-21, not to any Roth rule. The closest thing to a deadline in federal law is the senior deduction in IRC section 151(d)(5)(C), which applies to a “taxable year beginning before January 1, 2029.” Q3 found no statute, regulation or IRS document that ends conversions in 2028.
The 2028 window articles reviewed for this page tie the date to those deductions, which the IRS lists as effective for 2025 through 2028, or to a Washington state tax covered below. None cites a Roth provision that ends. One 2025 trade piece called the rates permanent “at least through 2028,” a limit that does not appear in section 70101 of P.L. 119-21, which struck the words “and before January 1, 2026” from IRC section 1(j)(1) and added no new end year.
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What does IRC section 408A say about Roth conversions ending?
Section 408A says nothing about conversions ending, because it has no termination clause for them. Section 408A(d)(3)(C) treats converting a non-Roth IRA as a distribution under the rollover rules, and section 408A(e)(1) defines a qualified rollover contribution with no closing year. The 2010 and 2011 references in that paragraph only spread the tax on 2010 conversions.
P.L. 119-21 left that text alone. In the enrolled law on GovInfo, the string 408A appears zero times and the word Roth appears once, in new IRC section 530A, which defines a Trump account as an IRA not designated as a Roth IRA. Conversions inside an employer plan rest on IRC section 402A(c)(4), which also has no general end date, as the page on the in-plan Roth conversion describes.
The conversion rule has mostly widened since section 302 of P.L. 105-34 created the Roth IRA in 1997. Conversions were limited to taxpayers with AGI under $100,000 until section 512 of P.L. 109-222 removed the cap beginning in 2010, according to the Congressional Research Service. The one narrowing is section 13611 of P.L. 115-97, which since 2018 has barred recharacterizing a conversion, so a 2028 conversion could not be unwound, a point covered on the page asking whether a Roth conversion can be reversed.
What expires around 2028, and what does not?
Four federal deductions stop after 2028, and the higher SALT cap falls back to $10,000 in 2030. Conversion authority, the 10% to 37% rates and the larger standard deduction carry no end date. Q3 compiled the table below from the enrolled text of P.L. 119-21 and the current Internal Revenue Code.
| Provision | Source | End date in current text | Link to a conversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right to convert an IRA to a Roth IRA | IRC 408A(d)(3), (e)(1) | None | The rule itself; no dollar or income cap |
| In-plan Roth conversion | IRC 402A(c)(4) | None | Available if the plan offers it |
| Rates of 10% to 37% | P.L. 119-21 sec. 70101; IRC 1(j) | None | Sets the tax on each converted dollar |
| Larger standard deduction | Sec. 70102; IRC 63(c)(7) | None | $16,100 single, $32,200 joint in 2026 |
| Senior deduction | Sec. 70103; IRC 151(d)(5)(C) | Years beginning before Jan. 1, 2029 | $6,000 per person, cut by 6% of MAGI above $75,000 single or $150,000 joint |
| Tips deduction | Sec. 70201; IRC 224(h) | Years beginning after Dec. 31, 2028 get none | Cut by $100 per $1,000 of MAGI above $150,000 or $300,000 joint |
| Overtime deduction | Sec. 70202; IRC 225(g) | Years beginning after Dec. 31, 2028 get none | Same MAGI test as tips |
| Car loan interest deduction | Sec. 70203; IRC 163(h)(4) | Years beginning before Jan. 1, 2029 | Cut by $200 per $1,000 of MAGI above $100,000 or $200,000 joint |
| Higher SALT cap | Sec. 70120; IRC 164(b)(7) | $10,000 cap from 2030 | $40,400 in 2026, cut by 30% of MAGI above $505,000 through 2029, floor $10,000 |
| Ban on recharacterizing a conversion | P.L. 115-97 sec. 13611 | None | A conversion stays final |
Every dated row is a deduction or a cap on one, and none limits who can convert or how much. For a retired filer with no tips, overtime or new car loan and MAGI below $505,000, the senior deduction is the only row that changes the 2029 arithmetic. The wider list of 2025 law sunsets is on the page asking whether the 2017 tax cuts expired.
What is the tax on a $50,000 Roth conversion in 2028 vs 2029?
For one hypothetical 67-year-old single filer, total federal tax in a $50,000 conversion year is $921 higher under 2029 rules than under 2028 rules. Only $201 of that gap traces to the conversion. The other $720 is tax the same filer would owe after 2028 with no conversion at all, since the deduction disappears either way.
The filer has $32,000 of Social Security, $28,000 of pension income and a fully pre-tax IRA. Both columns use the 2026 brackets in Rev. Proc. 2025-32, the $16,100 standard deduction and the $2,050 additional amount for an unmarried filer 65 or older, all held constant, so the senior deduction is the only difference. Actual 2028 and 2029 brackets will carry inflation adjustments, which the 2026 tax brackets page explains. State tax and Medicare premiums are left out.
| Conversion | MAGI | Senior deduction, 2028 rules | Total tax, 2028 rules | Total tax, 2029 rules | Added by conversion, 2028 rules | Added by conversion, 2029 rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0 | $41,000 | $6,000 | $1,774 | $2,494 | $0 | $0 |
| $25,000 | $80,200 | $5,688 | $7,112 | $8,363 | $5,338 | $5,869 |
| $50,000 | $105,200 | $4,188 | $12,942 | $13,863 | $11,168 | $11,369 |
| $75,000 | $130,200 | $2,688 | $18,845 | $19,490 | $17,071 | $16,996 |
| $100,000 | $155,200 | $1,188 | $25,205 | $25,490 | $23,431 | $22,996 |
| $150,000 | $205,200 | $0 | $37,490 | $37,490 | $35,716 | $34,996 |
Worked example at $50,000: pension of $28,000, plus the conversion, plus $27,200 of taxable Social Security (the 85% cap under IRC section 86, up from $13,000 with no conversion) gives MAGI of $105,200. Under 2028 rules the senior deduction is $6,000 minus 6% of $30,200, or $4,188, taxable income is $82,862 and tax is $12,942. Under 2029 rules taxable income is $87,050 and tax is $13,863.
The last two columns show what the 2028 window framing leaves out. The tax a conversion adds moves by hundreds of dollars, not thousands, and above a conversion of about $65,255 it is lower under 2029 rules, because in 2028 that conversion forfeits part of a deduction while in 2029 there is none to forfeit. Total tax is never lower under 2029 rules; at $150,000 both totals are $37,490. This is arithmetic for one household, not a suggestion to convert in either year. Sizing against the 6% reduction is on the senior deduction phaseout page, and the value question is on the page asking whether Roth conversions are still worth it after OBBBA.
Which real 2028 dates touch a Roth conversion?
Four 2028 dates are real, and none ends conversions: the last senior deduction year, the first RMD year for people born in 1955, the Medicare lookback year for 2030 premiums, and the start of Washington’s state tax on income above $1,000,000. Each changes the cost or the order of a conversion for a defined group of filers.
- December 31, 2028. A conversion counts in the year of the distribution, so this is the last day one can land on a return that still has the senior deduction. The calendar-year mechanics are on the Roth conversion deadline page.
- Born in 1955. These filers reach age 73 in 2028, the applicable age under IRC section 401(a)(9)(C). Treas. Reg. 1.408A-4 Q&A-6 requires that year’s RMD to come out before any amount is converted, because section 408(d)(3) bars rolling over an RMD. Room shrinks; the right to convert stays.
- Medicare premiums in 2030. 42 U.S.C. 1395r(i)(4)(B) measures income from the second calendar year before the premium year, so 2028 MAGI, conversion included, sets 2030 premiums. The same lookback ties a 2026 conversion to 2028 premiums.
- Washington residents above $1,000,000. ESSB 6346 (chapter 238, Laws of 2026) imposes 9.90 percent from January 1, 2028 under section 201, starts from federal AGI under section 101(11) and allows a $1,000,000 deduction under section 314. Q3 found no Roth conversion carve-out in its base and deduction sections. Initiative 645, a repeal measure, was trailing in unofficial November 3, 2026 returns at this review date, with mail ballots still being counted, and a constitutional challenge has been filed.
Has Congress ever passed a bill that ends Roth conversions?
No. The closest attempt was section 138311 of H.R. 5376, passed by the House on November 19, 2021. It named 2032 rather than 2028, reached pre-tax money only for high earners, and was gone from the text by the time that bill number became the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Section 138311(a) would have barred converting after-tax money after December 31, 2021. Section 138311(b) would have barred pre-tax conversions in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2031 for MAGI over $400,000 single, $450,000 joint or $425,000 head of household. The Senate then replaced the bill’s text, and P.L. 117-169, signed August 16, 2022, contains neither section 138311 nor the word Roth. A search for H.R. 5376 can therefore show “became law” even though the Roth language never did.
Treasury’s Fiscal Year 2025 Green Book proposed a similar bar for MAGI over $400,000, $425,000 or $450,000, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024. Section 408A shows no such amendment. Full-text queries of 119th Congress bills on GovInfo, run November 5, 2026, returned Roth bills pointing the other way, such as S. 5445 (military death benefit contributions, one year to three) and S. 5550 (529-to-Roth limit), and none restricting conversions. A keyword search can miss a bill, and this page makes no forecast about Congress.
How can you check a claim that Roth conversions end in 2028?
Ask for the Code section, because a real end date has to sit in statutory text. IRC sections 224(h) and 225(g) show what one looks like: “No deduction shall be allowed under this section for any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2028.” Section 408A has no sentence like it as of November 5, 2026.
- Read the amendment notes under section 408A on Cornell’s Legal Information Institute. A new limit would appear there by public law number.
- Separate a bill from a law. An H.R. or S. number is a proposal; a P.L. cite is enacted, and the enacted text can differ, as H.R. 5376 shows.
- Turn the claim into a return question for a tax preparer: what is projected 2028 MAGI, how much of the $6,000 survives the 6% reduction, and what does the same return show with that deduction removed?
Frequently asked questions
Is there a deadline for Roth conversions in 2028?
Only the ordinary calendar-year one. A distribution converted by December 31, 2028 belongs to tax year 2028, and the senior deduction on that return is measured against MAGI that includes it. A conversion on January 2, 2029 is a 2029 event and is taxed with no senior deduction available.
Can you still do a Roth conversion in 2029?
Yes, under current law. Section 408A sets no closing year, no dollar cap and, since 2010, no income limit on conversions. A person subject to RMDs in 2029 still takes that year’s amount first under Treas. Reg. 1.408A-4 Q&A-6, and the taxable converted amount is ordinary income on the 2029 return.
Will tax brackets go up after 2028?
Not under current law. Section 70101 of P.L. 119-21 removed the 2026 end date from IRC section 1(j) and set no new one, so the 10% to 37% rates carry past 2028 with inflation adjustments. In 2026 the 24% bracket tops out at $201,775 single and $403,550 joint. Only a new public law could change that.
Does the extra standard deduction for seniors also end after 2028?
No. The additional standard deduction in IRC section 63(f), $2,050 for an unmarried filer and $1,650 per qualifying married filer in 2026, has no 2028 end date. Only the separate $6,000 deduction in section 151(d)(5)(C) stops, because it applies to taxable years beginning before January 1, 2029.
Does the 2028 date change how Social Security is taxed?
No. IRC section 86 keeps its base amounts of $25,000 and $34,000 for single filers and $32,000 and $44,000 for joint filers, with up to 85% of benefits taxable, and P.L. 119-21 did not amend that section. The senior deduction lowers taxable income without changing the section 86 formula.
Are backdoor Roth conversions ending in 2028?
No. A backdoor Roth is a section 408A(d)(3) conversion of nondeductible IRA money, reported in Part II of Form 8606, and P.L. 119-21 did not change it. Section 138311(a) of H.R. 5376 would have stopped after-tax conversions after December 31, 2021, but that language was not in the version enacted in 2022.
Methodology: Compiled from primary documents and public data: enrolled public laws and bill text on GovInfo, the U.S. Code and Treasury regulations, Rev. Proc. 2025-32, a CRS brief, the FY2025 Green Book and Washington’s session law. A script computed the 2028 vs 2029 table from 2026 IRS figures for a labeled hypothetical household. Anonymous forum anecdotes were excluded because this is a YMYL topic.
This article is for educational purposes only and is not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Consult a qualified professional about your specific situation.
