A Roth conversion checklist is the ordered set of steps you work through before December 31 to move money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth IRA in the current tax year. It covers the prerequisites, the tax math, and the gotchas (the RMD rule, the pro-rata rule, the 5-year clock, and IRMAA) so nothing surprises you after the conversion is locked in.
Work through these nine steps before December 31, 2026:
- Confirm a conversion fits your year.
- Open the Roth IRA.
- Take any required minimum distribution first.
- Tally all other income.
- Respect the pro-rata rule and 5-year clock.
- Plan how you will pay the tax.
- Coordinate charitable giving.
- Check IRMAA and other stealth taxes.
- Initiate the conversion by mid-December.
A conversion is uncapped, taxable, irreversible, and has no filing extension.
Talk With Craig Wear's Team
Craig has helped IRA millionaires save over $1 million each in unnecessary taxes. Find out if a Roth conversion strategy fits your retirement, with no sales pressure and no product pitch.
What is a Roth conversion checklist (and why year-end timing matters)?
A Roth conversion checklist is a step-by-step list of the prerequisites and decisions to settle before you convert traditional retirement money to a Roth IRA. Year-end timing matters because a conversion counts in the calendar year the funds actually move, not the year you file. The December 31 cutoff is firm, so the amount you convert permanently sets your taxable income for that year.
A conversion adds the pre-tax amount to your ordinary taxable income for the year. In exchange, that money grows tax-free and skips lifetime required minimum distributions, so the size and timing of each conversion drive the result. This page is the long-form reference version, covering each step in the order you would work through it before the deadline.
Do Roth conversions have to be done by December 31?
Yes. A Roth conversion must be completed by December 31 to count for that tax year, and there is no extension. This differs from a Roth or traditional IRA contribution, which you can make up to the April 15 filing deadline for the prior year. The conversion date is the day the funds leave the traditional account, so a request stuck in a custodian queue on January 2 counts for the new year.
The deadline has no grace period, so a conversion you intend for 2026 needs enough lead time to settle before the holiday. See our breakdown of the 2026 Roth conversion deadline for cutoff specifics.
| Action | Deadline for 2026 tax year | Extension available? |
|---|---|---|
| Roth conversion | December 31, 2026 | No |
| Traditional or Roth IRA contribution | April 15, 2027 | No, but the later date applies |
| Required minimum distribution (age 73+) | December 31, 2026 | No (first RMD only, to April 1) |
Step 1: Is a Roth conversion actually right for you this year?
Before running the mechanics, confirm a conversion fits your 2026 situation. A conversion often makes sense when your current tax rate is lower than the rate you expect later, when you have cash outside the IRA to pay the tax, and when you will not need the money for at least five years. Many investors convert in lower-income years, such as the gap before Social Security or RMDs begin.
A conversion can be less attractive if paying the tax would push you into a much higher bracket, trigger surcharges, or force you to use IRA money to cover the bill. A break-even analysis compares paying tax now against leaving the money in a traditional account, which can help frame whether the timing works in your favor.
There is no income limit and no dollar cap on a conversion, which is different from the Roth contribution phase-out ($153,000 to $168,000 modified adjusted gross income for single filers and $242,000 to $252,000 for married filing jointly in 2026). High earners who cannot contribute directly can still convert.
Step 2: Open your Roth IRA before you convert
Open and fund the receiving Roth IRA before the day you plan to convert. The account should exist and be ready so the transfer has somewhere to land. If your money sits in a 401(k), contact the plan administrator early to confirm whether the plan allows an in-plan Roth conversion or a rollout to an IRA, because plan rules vary and processing runs slow in December.
Opening the account early removes a common bottleneck. If you are converting from more than one traditional IRA, many households convert first from the larger balance or the older spouse’s IRA, then coordinate the rest across years. Learn more on our Roth conversion service page.
Step 3: Take your RMD first if you’re 73 or older
If you are age 73 or older in 2026, take your full required minimum distribution before you convert anything. A required minimum distribution cannot be converted to a Roth IRA, and a conversion does not satisfy the RMD. The first dollars leaving a traditional IRA in an RMD year are treated as the RMD, so you must distribute that amount first, then convert on top.
Under SECURE 2.0, the RMD age is 73, rising to 75 for people born in 1960 or later (so the earliest age-75 RMD year is 2035). Converting an RMD by mistake creates an excess Roth contribution that has to be corrected. See our guide to required minimum distributions in 2026 for the calculation.
Step 4: Add up all your other income before you decide the amount
Before choosing how much to convert, total every other income source for 2026: wages, self-employment income, pension payments, taxable Social Security, required minimum distributions, interest, dividends, and capital gains. A conversion stacks on top of that base as ordinary income. Knowing your starting point tells you how much room you have inside your current tax bracket before the next dollar is taxed at a higher rate.
Start from the 2026 standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, plus $2,050 single or $1,650 per spouse at age 65+). Those age 65+ may also qualify for the OBBBA senior deduction of $6,000 per person for 2025 through 2028. Subtract deductions from total income to find taxable income, then measure the gap to your bracket ceiling.
How much can I convert without jumping into the next tax bracket?
Many investors convert an amount roughly equal to the space between their taxable income and the top of their current bracket. For example, a married-filing-jointly couple with $120,000 of taxable income sits in the 22% bracket, which runs to $211,400 in 2026. They could convert close to $91,000 before reaching the 24% bracket. This bracket-filling approach keeps each converted dollar taxed at the rate you accept.
| 2026 rate | Single taxable income | Married filing jointly |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | Up to $12,400 | Up to $24,800 |
| 12% | To $50,400 | To $100,800 |
| 22% | To $105,700 | To $211,400 |
| 24% | To $201,775 | To $403,550 |
| 32% | To $256,225 | To $512,450 |
| 35% | To $640,600 | To $768,700 |
| 37% | Over $640,600 | Over $768,700 |
Our how much to convert to a Roth guide walks through multi-year strategies for spreading a large balance across several lower-income years.
Step 5: Watch the pro-rata rule and the 5-year clock
Two rules can change what your conversion actually costs. The pro-rata rule says that if you hold any pre-tax money across all your traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs, each conversion is taxed proportionally between pre-tax and after-tax dollars, so you cannot convert only the nondeductible basis. The 5-year rule sets a separate holding clock on each conversion before earnings come out penalty-free.
The pro-rata rule matters most for a backdoor Roth, where you contribute nondeductible money and convert it. If you also hold a large pre-tax IRA, most of that conversion becomes taxable, because the IRS measures your combined IRA balances as of December 31.
How does the 5-year rule work on each conversion?
Each Roth conversion starts its own 5-year clock that begins on January 1 of the year you convert. If you are under 59 and a half, withdrawing converted principal before that clock finishes can trigger a 10% penalty. A conversion done any time in 2026 is treated as starting January 1, 2026, so it satisfies the 5-year test on January 1, 2031, meaning a late-year conversion still captures the full head start.
Step 6: Plan how you’ll pay the conversion tax
A conversion is taxable ordinary income, so decide how you will cover the bill before you convert. Paying the tax from funds outside the IRA (a taxable brokerage or savings account) lets the full converted amount keep growing tax-free. You generally also need to cover the liability through estimated payments or withholding to meet IRS safe-harbor rules and avoid an underpayment penalty.
Safe harbor is met if your withholding and estimated payments equal at least 90% of the current year tax, or 100% of last year’s tax (110% if your prior-year adjusted gross income exceeded $150,000). A conversion is not itself net investment income, though it can raise other thresholds.
Should I pay the tax from my IRA or from outside funds?
Paying from outside funds is what many advisers prefer, because it keeps the entire converted balance inside the Roth to grow tax-free. If you withhold the tax from the IRA itself and you are under 59 and a half, the withheld amount is treated as a distribution and can face a 10% penalty. Many investors avoid default 20% withholding on a conversion unless they have no outside cash.
Step 7: Coordinate charitable giving (QCDs and donor-advised funds)
Charitable giving can soften the tax hit of a conversion in the same year. A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) lets someone age 70 and a half or older send up to $111,000 in 2026 directly from an IRA to charity, and a QCD can count toward your required minimum distribution while staying out of taxable income. A QCD must come from an IRA, not directly from a 401(k).
A donor-advised fund is a second option. A larger gift in a high-income conversion year can produce an itemized deduction that offsets part of the added income, with grants to charities over time. Because deduction limits tie to adjusted gross income, many donors confirm the specifics with a CPA before giving.
Step 8: Check IRMAA and other stealth taxes before you convert
A conversion raises your modified adjusted gross income, which can trigger stealth costs beyond the income tax. A common one for retirees is IRMAA, the Medicare surcharge that raises Part B and Part D premiums when MAGI exceeds $109,000 single or $218,000 joint in 2026. IRMAA uses a two-year lookback, so a 2026 conversion can raise your 2028 Medicare premiums.
The standard 2026 Medicare Part B premium is $202.90 per month, and IRMAA adds tiered surcharges above the thresholds. Because of the two-year lookback, the last conversion year that does not affect a future Medicare premium is age 62. Also watch the 3.8% net investment income tax above $200,000 single or $250,000 joint, and the taxable share of Social Security.
| 2026 stealth cost | Trigger threshold (MAGI) | How a conversion interacts |
|---|---|---|
| IRMAA (Medicare Part B and D) | Over $109,000 single / $218,000 joint | Two-year lookback raises future premiums |
| Net investment income tax (3.8%) | Over $200,000 single / $250,000 joint | Conversion is not NII but raises MAGI |
| Social Security taxation | Varies by provisional income | Added income can tax more of benefits |
See our guide to the net investment income tax in 2026 for how the surtax applies.
Step 9: Execute early to beat custodian year-end backlogs
Initiate the conversion by mid-December, not the final week. Custodians and 401(k) plan administrators process a large volume at year-end, and a request that does not settle by December 31 counts for the next tax year with no way to move it back. A conversion submitted in late December but processed in January misses the deadline.
When a year-end Roth conversion backfires
A conversion can backfire when the added income pushes you into a much higher bracket, crosses the IRMAA or net investment income tax thresholds, forces you to use IRA money to pay the tax before age 59 and a half, or when you expect a lower tax rate later. Because a conversion is irreversible, there is no undo.
Other cases to pause on: converting money you may need within five years, or converting without confirming the pro-rata impact of a large pre-tax IRA. Many investors in these situations convert a smaller amount, or spread conversions across several years, rather than skip the strategy.
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
Do Roth conversions need to be done by year end?
Yes. A Roth conversion counts for the tax year the funds leave the traditional account, so it must be completed by December 31, with no extension. An IRA contribution differs: you can make one up to the April 15 filing deadline for the prior year.
What is the deadline for a Roth IRA conversion?
The deadline for a Roth IRA conversion is December 31 of the tax year you want it to count in, with no filing extension. For 2026, the money must leave the traditional account by December 31, 2026. Because custodians run backlogged in late December, initiate by mid-December.
Do I have to take my RMD before a Roth conversion?
Yes, if you are age 73 or older. In an RMD year, the first dollars leaving your traditional IRA are treated as the required minimum distribution, and an RMD cannot be converted. Take the full RMD first, then convert. A conversion does not satisfy your RMD.
Is there a limit to how much I can convert to a Roth IRA?
No. There is no dollar cap and no income limit on a Roth conversion, unlike the Roth contribution phase-out that starts at $153,000 single or $242,000 married filing jointly of MAGI in 2026. The full pre-tax amount is added to your ordinary taxable income, which is what most people limit instead.
How does the 5-year rule work for a Roth conversion?
Each conversion carries its own 5-year clock that starts January 1 of the year you convert. If you are under 59 and a half, withdrawing converted principal before that clock ends can trigger a 10% penalty. A conversion made anywhere in 2026 is treated as beginning January 1, 2026, so it clears the 5-year test on January 1, 2031.
How much tax will I pay on a Roth conversion?
You pay ordinary income tax on the pre-tax amount converted, at your marginal 2026 rate once it stacks on your other income. For a married couple in the 22% bracket, a $50,000 conversion adds about $11,000 in federal tax, before any state tax, IRMAA, or net investment income tax.
