Roth IRA recharacterization

Don’t Recharacterize Too Soon

Some taxpayers who did Roth conversions earlier this year have seen their account values drop. As a result, they are considering doing a recharacterization of their Roth back to an IRA. But maybe they should wait a while. Why? Maybe, if they wait long enough, the Roth account will recover and not need to be recharacterized. The better answer, however, lies in the rules for reconverting assets once they have been recharacterized.

Roth IRA Recharacterization

If you recently converted a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, you can recharacterize by October 15 of the year following the conversion. A recharacterization means reversing your Roth IRA conversion as if it never happened. When you convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, you pay the income taxes based on the fair market value of the assets, your basis at the time of conversion.

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