Publication 590 |
2000 Tax Year |
Can I Move Amounts Into a Roth IRA?
You may be able to convert amounts from either a traditional, SEP,
or SIMPLE IRA into a Roth IRA. You may be able to recharacterize
contributions made to one IRA as having been made directly to a
different IRA. You can roll amounts over from one Roth IRA to another
Roth IRA.
Conversions
You can convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. The conversion is
treated as a rollover, regardless of the conversion method used. Most
of the rules for rollovers, described in chapter 1
under Rollover
From One IRA Into Another, apply to these rollovers. However,
the 1-year waiting period does not apply.
Conversion methods.
You can convert amounts from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in
any of the following three ways.
- Rollover. You can receive a distribution from a
traditional IRA and roll it over (contribute it) to a Roth IRA within
60 days after the distribution.
- Trustee-to-trustee transfer. You can direct the
trustee of the traditional IRA to transfer an amount from the
traditional IRA to the trustee of the Roth IRA.
- Same trustee transfer. If the trustee of the
traditional IRA also maintains the Roth IRA, you can direct the
trustee to transfer an amount from the traditional IRA to the Roth
IRA.
Same trustee.
Conversions made with the same trustee can be made by redesignating
the traditional IRA as a Roth IRA, rather than opening a new account
or issuing a new contract.
Converting From Any Traditional IRA
You can convert amounts from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA if,
for the tax year you make the withdrawal from the traditional IRA,
both of the following requirements are met.
- Your modified AGI (explained earlier) is not more than
$100,000.
- You are not a married individual filing a separate return.
(See Lived apart from spouse under Filing status,
in chapter 1.)
Allowable conversions.
You can withdraw all or part of the assets from a traditional IRA
and reinvest them (within 60 days) in a Roth IRA. If properly (and
timely) rolled over, the 10% additional tax on early
distributions will not apply. You must roll over into the Roth
IRA the same property you received from the traditional IRA. You can
roll over part of the withdrawal into a Roth IRA and keep the rest of
it. The amount you keep will generally be taxable (except for the part
that is a return of nondeductible contributions) and may be subject to
the 10% tax on early distributions. See chapter 1
for more information
on distributions from traditional IRAs and the tax on early
distributions.
Periodic distributions.
An individual who has started taking substantially equal periodic
payments from a traditional IRA can convert the account to a Roth IRA
and then continue the periodic payments. The following rules apply.
- The periodic distributions result in income acceleration to
the extent allocable to a 1998 conversion contribution to which the
4-year spread applies.
- The 10% early distribution tax will not apply even if the
distributions are not qualified distributions (as long as they are
part of a series of substantially equal periodic payments).
Required distributions.
Amounts that must be distributed from your traditional IRA for a
particular year (including the calendar year in which you reach age 70 1/2) under the required distribution rules (discussed in
chapter 1)
cannot be converted.
Inherited IRAs.
If you inherited a traditional IRA from someone other than your
spouse, you cannot convert it to a Roth IRA.
Income.
You must include in your gross income distributions from a
traditional IRA that you would have to include in income if you had
not converted them into a Roth IRA. You do not include in gross income
any part of a distribution from a traditional IRA that is a return of
your basis, as discussed under Are Distributions Taxable?,
earlier.
If you must include any amount in your gross income, you may have
to make estimated tax payments. See Publication 505,
Tax
Withholding and Estimated Tax.
How To Treat 1998 Conversions
If you converted amounts from a traditional IRA in 1998 to a Roth
IRA, any amount you had to include in income as a result of the
distribution is generally included ratably over a 4-year period,
beginning with 1998. This means you included one quarter of the amount
in 1998, and one quarter in 1999, and must include one quarter in
2000, and one quarter in 2001. However, see Distributions from
Roth IRAs, later.
Note.
You may have elected to include the entire amount in income in
1998. If you did, this discussion does not apply to you.
Change in filing status.
A change in filing status or a divorce does not affect the
application of the 4-year income spread rule for 1998 conversions.
Therefore, if a married Roth IRA owner who made a 1998 conversion and
uses the 4-year spread files separately or divorces before the full
taxable conversion amount has been included in income, the balance is
included in the owner's income over the remaining years in the 4-year
period (or in the year for which the remainder is accelerated due to
distribution or death).
Distributions from Roth IRAs.
If you are including the taxable part of a 1998 conversion ratably
over the 4-year period and in 2000 any amount allocable to the taxable
part of the conversion is distributed from the Roth IRA, you generally
have to include in income both the ratable (one quarter) portion for
the year and the part of the distribution made during the year that is
allocable to the taxable part of the conversion. See Ordering
Rules for Distributions, later, for information on how to
determine the amount allocable to the taxable part of the conversion.
For 2000, you generally must include in income the total of the
following two amounts.
- One quarter of the taxable part of the 1998 distribution
from the traditional IRA that was converted to the Roth IRA.
- The part of the 2000 distribution from the Roth IRA that,
under the ordering rules for distributions (discussed later), is
allocable to the taxable part of the 1998 conversion from the
traditional IRA to the Roth IRA.
Any amount allocable to the 1998 conversion that is included in
income in 2000 because of a distribution from the Roth IRA reduces the
taxable amount that is reportable in 2001. The most that must be
included in income for 2000 is the total amount required to be
included over all 4 years of the period minus the amounts included in
all preceding years in the period.
Death of Roth IRA owner during 4-year period.
If a Roth IRA owner who is including amounts ratably over the
4-year period dies before including all of the amounts in income, any
amounts not included must generally be included in the owner's
(decedent's) gross income for the year of death. However, if the
decedent's surviving spouse receives the entire interest in all the
decedent's Roth IRAs, that spouse can elect to continue to ratably
include the amounts in income over the remaining years in the 4-year
period.
The spouse makes this choice by attaching a statement to his or her
return (and to the decedent's final return, if a joint return is not
filed). Include the following items on the statement.
- A statement that the surviving spouse elects to continue to
report the taxable portion from the decedent's 1998 Roth IRA
conversion over the remaining years.
- The names and social security number of the surviving spouse
and the decedent.
- The total taxable amount of the decedent's 1998 Roth IRA
conversion from the decedent's 1998 Form 8606.
- The amount, if any, of previous taxable distributions from
Roth IRAs.
If the spouse makes this choice, the amount includible under
the 4-year rule for the year of death is included on the decedent's
final return. After the year of death, the surviving spouse reports
the same taxable IRA distribution as the decedent would have reported.
The choice cannot be made or changed after the due date (including
extensions) for filing the spouse's tax return for the tax year that
includes the decedent's date of death. However, if the surviving
spouse timely files his or her return for the year without making the
choice, the surviving spouse can still make the choice by filing an
amended return within six months of the due date of the return
(excluding extensions). Attach the statement to the amended return and
write "Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2" on the
statement. File the amended return at the same address you filed the
original return.
Converting From a SIMPLE IRA
Generally, you can convert an amount in your SIMPLE IRA to a Roth
IRA under the same rules explained earlier under Converting From
Any Traditional IRA.
However, you cannot convert any amount distributed from the SIMPLE
IRA during the 2-year period beginning on the date you first
participated in any SIMPLE IRA plan maintained by your employer.
Rollover From a Roth IRA
You can withdraw, tax free, all or part of the assets from one Roth
IRA if you contribute them within 60 days to another Roth IRA. Most of
the rules for rollovers, described in chapter 1
under Rollover
From One IRA Into Another, apply to these rollovers. However, no
deductible contributions can be made to Roth IRAs and rollovers from
retirement plans other than Roth IRAs are disregarded for purposes of
the 1-year waiting period between rollovers.
Failed Conversions
If, when you converted amounts from a traditional IRA or SIMPLE IRA
(including a transfer by redesignation) into a Roth IRA, you expected
to have modified AGI of less than $100,000 and a filing status other
than married filing separately, but events changed these facts, you
have made a failed conversion.
Adverse consequences.
If the converted amount (contribution) is not recharacterized
(explained later), the contribution will be treated as a regular
contribution to the Roth IRA and subject to the following tax
consequences.
- A 6% excise tax per year will apply to any excess
contribution not withdrawn from the Roth IRA.
- The distributions from the traditional IRA must be included
in your gross income.
- The 10% additional tax on early distributions may apply to
any distribution.
How to avoid.
You must move the amount converted (including all earnings from the
date of conversion) into a traditional IRA by the due date (including
extensions) for your tax return for the year during which you made the
conversion to the Roth IRA. You do not have to include this
distribution (withdrawal) in income. See Recharacterization of
original contribution, later, for more information.
Recharacterizations
You may be able to treat a contribution made to one type of IRA as
having been made to a different type of IRA. This is called
recharacterizing the contribution.
How to recharacterize.
To recharacterize a contribution, you generally must have the
contribution transferred from the first IRA (the one to which it was
made) to the second IRA in a trustee-to-trustee transfer. If the
transfer is made by the due date (including extensions) for your tax
return for the year during which the contribution was made, you can
elect to treat the contribution as having been originally made to the
second IRA instead of to the first IRA. It will be treated as having
been made to the second IRA on the same date that it was actually made
to the first IRA. You must report the recharacterization, and must
treat the contribution as having been made to the second IRA, instead
of the first IRA, on your tax return for the year during which the
contribution was made.
If you timely file your return without making the election, you can
still make the choice by filing an amended return within six months of
the due date of the return (excluding extensions). Report the
recharacterization on the amended return and write "Filed pursuant
to section 301.9100-2" on the return. File the amended return
at the same address you filed the original return.
Net income must be transferred.
The contribution will not be treated as having been made to the
second IRA unless the transfer includes any net income allocable to
the contribution. You can take into account any loss on the
contribution while it was in the IRA when calculating the amount that
must be transferred. If there was a loss, the net income you must
transfer may be a negative amount.
No deduction allowed.
No deduction is allowed for the contribution to the first IRA and
any net income transferred with the recharacterized contribution is
treated as earned in the second IRA. The contribution will not be
treated as having been made to the second IRA to the extent any
deduction was allowed with respect to the contribution to the first
IRA.
Conversion by rollover from traditional to Roth IRA.
For recharacterization purposes, a distribution from a traditional
IRA that is received in one tax year and rolled over into a Roth IRA
in the next year, but still within 60 days of the distribution from
the traditional IRA, is treated as a contribution to the Roth IRA in
the year of the distribution from the traditional IRA.
Effect of previous tax-free transfers.
If a contribution has been moved from one IRA to another in a
tax-free transfer, such as a rollover, the contribution to the second
IRA generally cannot be recharacterized. However, see Move from
traditional to SIMPLE IRA, later.
Recharacterization of original contribution.
A contribution to one IRA that has been moved between IRAs in
tax-free transfers can be treated as if it remained in the first IRA,
the IRA that received the original contribution. This means that you
can elect to recharacterize the contribution to the first IRA by
having a trustee-to-trustee transfer of the contribution made from the
IRA in which it now resides to a second IRA and treating the
contribution as having been made to the second IRA on the same date it
was actually made to the first IRA. If both IRAs involved in the
trustee-to-trustee transfer are maintained by the same trustee, you
need only direct that trustee to transfer the contribution.
Roth IRA conversion contributions from a SEP-IRA or SIMPLE IRA can
be recharacterized to a SEP-IRA or SIMPLE IRA (including the original
SEP-IRA or SIMPLE IRA).
Move from traditional to SIMPLE IRA.
If you mistakenly roll over or transfer an amount from a
traditional IRA to a SIMPLE IRA, you can later recharacterize the
amount as a contribution to another traditional IRA.
Applying excess contributions.
You can recharacterize only actual contributions. If you are
applying excess contributions for prior years as current
contributions, you can recharacterize them only if the
recharacterization would still be timely with respect to the tax year
for which the applied contributions were actually made.
Employer contributions.
You cannot recharacterize employer contributions (including
elective deferrals) under a SEP or SIMPLE plan as contributions to
another IRA. SEPs are discussed in chapter 4.
SIMPLE plans are
discussed in chapter 5.
Recharacterizations not counted as rollover.
The recharacterization of a contribution is not treated as a
rollover for purposes of the 1-year waiting period described in
chapter 1
under Rollover From One IRA Into Another. This
rule applies even if the contribution would have been treated as a
rollover contribution by the second IRA if it had been made directly
to the second IRA rather than as a result of a recharacterization of a
contribution to the first IRA.
Reconversions
You cannot convert and reconvert an amount during the same taxable
year, or if later, during the 30-day period following a
recharacterization. If you reconvert during either of these periods,
it will be a failed conversion.
How Do I Recharacterize a Contribution?
To recharacterize a contribution, you must notify both the trustee
of the first IRA (the one to which the contribution was actually made)
and the trustee of the second IRA that you have elected to treat, for
federal tax purposes, the contribution as having been made to the
second IRA rather than the first. You must make the notifications by
the date of the transfer. Only one notification is required if both
IRAs are maintained by the same trustee. The notification(s) must
include all of the following information.
- The type and amount of the contribution to the first IRA
that is to be recharacterized.
- The date on which the contribution was made to the first IRA
and the year for which it was made.
- A direction to the trustee of the first IRA to transfer in a
trustee-to-trustee transfer the amount of the contribution and any net
income allocable to the contribution to the trustee of the second IRA.
If there was a loss while the contribution was in the first IRA, the
net income that must be transferred may be a negative amount.
Beginning in 2000, there is a new method available for calculating net
income allocable to recharacterized contributions.
- The name of the trustee of the first IRA and the name of the
trustee of the second IRA.
- Any additional information needed to make the
transfer.
Note.
If the trustee of your first IRA is for any reason unable to
calculate the amount of net income you must transfer, get IRS Notice
2000-39. The notice explains the IRS-approved method of
calculating the amount you must transfer.
Timing.
The election to recharacterize and the transfer must both take
place on or before the due date (including extensions) for filing your
tax return for the year for which the contribution was made to the
first IRA.
If you have timely filed your tax return, you have an automatic
6-month extension to recharacterize a contribution or a conversion.
Decedent.
The election to recharacterize can be made by the executor,
administrator, or other person responsible for filing the decedent's
final income tax return.
Election cannot be changed.
After the transfer has taken place, you cannot change your election
to recharacterize.
Same trustee.
Recharacterizations made with the same trustee can be made by
redesignating the first as the second IRA, rather than transferring
the account balance.
Reporting a Recharacterization
If you elect to recharacterize a contribution to one IRA as a
contribution to another IRA, you must report the recharacterization on
your tax return as directed by the tax form and its instructions. You
must treat the contribution as having been made to the second IRA.
Recharacterization Example
On June 1, 2000, Christine properly and timely converted her
traditional IRAs to a Roth IRA. At the time, she and her husband
Jeremy expected to have modified AGI of less than $100,000 for 2000.
In December, Jeremy received an unexpected bonus that increased his
and Christine's modified AGI to more than $100,000. In January, 2001,
to make the necessary adjustment to remove the unallowable conversion,
Christine set up a traditional IRA with the same trustee. Also in
January 2001, she instructed the trustee of the Roth IRA to make a
trustee-to-trustee transfer of the conversion contribution made to the
Roth IRA (including net income allocable to it since the conversion)
to the new traditional IRA. She also notified the trustee that she was
electing to recharacterize the contribution to the Roth IRA and treat
it as if it had been contributed to the new traditional IRA. Because
of the recharacterization, Jeremy and Christine have no taxable income
from the conversion to report for 2000, and the resulting rollover to
a traditional IRA is not treated as a rollover for purposes of the
one-rollover-per-year rule.
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