Can I Roll A 401k Into A Roth Ira

Pros And Cons: 401 Vs Ira

Determine If A Roth Ira Rollover Is Right For You

Ultimately you have to determine whether rollover to a Roth IRA is the best decision for your retirement planning. You can speak with a company representative or independent financial advisor to decide to proceed with the conversion process. If converting to a Roth IRA is the best decision for your retirement, take care to follow the conversion rules and avoid possible penalties.

The Roth Solo 401k 5 Year Period

For a Roth Solo 401k, the five-year period separately applies to each 401k including a solo 401k. For example, if you work for company X from 2009-2012 and make Roth 401k contributions, the 5-year period begins in 2009. Further, lets say you then leave your job in 2012, and become self-employed in 2013 so you open a Solo 401k and make Roth Solo 401k contributions. Well, a new five year-period will begin on the Roth Solo 401k contributions in 2013. However, if you decide to directly roll over/transfer the Roth 401k funds from your previous employer to your new Roth Solo 401k with company Y, the Roth Solo 401k funds with the self-employed business would start the five-year period from 2009.

Another difference deals with the direct rollover/transfer of a Roth Solo 401k to a Roth IRA whereby the five-year period under the Roth IRA rules apply instead of the Roth Solo 401k five-year waiting period.

For example, lets say that you made contributions to your Roth Solo 401k from 2010 through 2012 and then transferred the Roth Solo 401k funds to a newly opened Roth IRA in 2013, the five-year waiting period would start as of 2013, the year the Roth IRA was opened. However, lets say instead that the Roth Solo 401k funds were transferred to a Roth IRA that was opened in 2006 , well, because the Roth Solo 401k funds were transferred to a Roth IRA that had already satisfied the five-year period, the Roth Solo 401k funds would automatically satisfy the five-year period.

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What Is A Designated Roth Contribution

A designated Roth contribution is a type of elective deferral that employees can make to their 401, 403 or governmental 457 retirement plan.

With a designated Roth contribution, the employee irrevocably designates the deferral as an after-tax contribution that the employer must deposit into a designated Roth account. The employer includes the amount of the designated Roth contribution in the employees gross income at the time the employee would have otherwise received the amount in cash if the employee had not made the election. It is subject to all applicable wage-withholding requirements.

The law does not allow designated Roth contributions in SARSEP or SIMPLE IRA plans.

Taxpayers Can Now Take Tax Free Jump From 401k To Roth Ira

Moving your retirement money around just got easier. In a conciliatory move for taxpayers, the IRS has issued new rules that allow you to minimize your tax liability when you move 401 funds into a Roth IRA or into another qualified employer plan. The situation arises when you have a retirement account through your employer that includes both pre-tax and after-tax funds. When you leave the company and want to move your money, allocating these retirement funds to new plans becomes tricky.

The new allocation rules take effect beginning in 2015, but taxpayers can choose to apply them to distributions beginning on September 18, 2014, the date the new rules were released by the IRS.

Under the old rules, you would have to pro-rate distributions and rollovers separately between pre-tax and after-tax amounts according to a set formula. This resulted in payment of tax on a pro rata share of pre-tax funds. The new rules allow you to do the allocations yourself within certain limits. You now can choose to move pre-tax money into a traditional IRA and after-tax money into a Roth IRA. If you moved pre-tax amounts into a Roth IRA, you would have to pay tax on the rollover because Roths can only be funded with after-tax money. Now you can direct pre-tax dollars to one account and after-tax dollars to another to avoid tax liability.

Lets look at an example.

Smart Planning

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Two: Convert Your Traditional Ira To A Roth Ira

No doubt, there are significant advantages to moving your 401 money to a Roth IRA. But, as noted earlier, it will be a taxable event. You will owe taxes not only on your contributions and your companys contributions if it has a matching program, but also on your earnings, which include capital gains and dividends. This bump in income could boost you to a much higher income bracket so that you are paying more tax than if you left the money in a traditional IRA and paid taxes as you made withdrawals in retirement.

Because the taxation of your money is changing, the switch from a traditional IRA to a Roth is called a conversion rather than a rollover. More importantly, it is a permanent process. So you should make sure this is what you really want to do before you do it.

Option : Roll Over The Funds Into An Ira

Transferring the money into an IRA is probably your best option. Thats because an IRA gives you the most control over your investments. You see, your new 401 plan probably only has a handful of investing options to choose from, and if youre feeling iffy about those options, you might not want to put your money in there. An IRA, on the other hand, gives you potentially thousands of mutual funds to choose from!

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Roll Over Your 401 To A Roth Ira

If you’re transitioning to a new job or heading into retirement, rolling over your 401 to a Roth IRA can help you continue to save for retirement while letting any earnings grow tax-free.2

Cons

• You can’t borrow against a Roth IRA as you can with a 401.
• Any Traditional 401 assets that are rolled into a Roth IRA are subject to taxes at the time of conversion.
• You may pay annual fees or other fees for maintaining your Roth IRA at some companies, or you may face higher investing fees, pricing, and expenses than you did with your 401.
• Some investments offered in a 401 plan may not be offered in a Roth IRA.
• Your IRA assets are generally protected from creditors only in the case of bankruptcy.
• Rolling over company stock may have negative tax implications.

Paying Taxes On Your Contributions

The point of a Roth IRA is that the money gets taxed as income upfront, then grows tax-free. But the money in your 401 was shielded from taxes. So youll now need to pay income tax on that money so that it qualifies for a Roth.

The funds you roll over are added to your taxable income for the year you do the rollover. Income taxes you owe will be calculated from that new total. Since the income from your IRA isnt coming from a paycheck, though, the tax you owe on it wont be withheld. Itll have to come out of your pocket, and to avoid a penalty, you may need to make an estimated tax payment before filing your taxes for the year.

Youll need to make an estimated tax payment if the taxes withheld from your paycheck arent enough to cover at least a) 90% of the taxes youll owe for the tax year of your rollover or b) 100% of the taxes you paid for the previous tax year . Once you know your estimated payment, you can either pay it all at once or split the amount between the quarters remaining in the tax year. Quarterly estimated tax payments are due on or before April 15, June 15, Sept. 15 and Jan. 15 of the next year.

If you overestimate how much your tax bill is going up and overpay your estimated tax payments, thats OK. Youll get a refund if you end up paying more than you owe.

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Roth Iras And Income Requirements

There is another key distinction between the two accounts. Anyone can contribute to a traditional IRA, but the IRS imposes an income cap on eligibility for a Roth IRA. Fundamentally, the IRS does not want high-earners benefiting from these tax-advantaged accounts.

The income caps are adjusted annually to keep up with inflation. In 2021, the phase-out range for a full annual contribution for single filers is from $125,000 to $140,000 for a Roth IRA. For married couples filing jointly, the phase-out begins at $198,000 in annual gross income, with an overall limit of $208,000.

And that is why, if you have a high income, you have another reason to roll over your 401 to a Roth IRA. Roth income limitations do not apply to this type of conversion. Anyone with any income is allowed to fund a Roth IRA via a rolloverâin fact, it is one of the only ways.

401 funds are not the only company retirement plan assets eligible for rollover. The 403 and 457 plans for public-sector and nonprofit employees may also be converted into Roth IRAs.

Investors may choose to divide their investment dollars across traditional and Roth IRA accounts, as long as their income is below the Roth limits. However, the maximum allowable amount remains the same. That is, it may not exceed a total of $6,000 split among the accounts.

How To Decide Which Rollover Is Right For You

When you leave an employer, youll have to decide if you want to leave your 401 in place, roll it over into an IRA, or roll it over into a new 401.

First, consider the fees that each plan charges. If you find that the fees at your previous company are higher than what youd pay at your new company or in an IRA, then it makes sense to roll your balance over. Moving the money to an IRA can be an effective way to save on fees some online brokerages offer 0% expense ratios on index funds.

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Are You A Us Citizen Or A Us Person For Tax Purposes

If yes, your client will likely have a bigger tax bill from collapsing a retirement plan than someone whos not. But it depends.

While Canadian residents are only taxed 15% on 401 and IRA withdrawals, withdrawals for U.S. persons are taxed as ordinary income at their marginal rate, which is usually higher than 15%. So, a 60-year-old U.S. person in the 33% bracket would only net $67,000 when collapsing a $100,000 IRA. If he transferred his IRA to an RRSP, his FTC would be $33,000 and he would need to owe $33,000 in Canadian tax to be in a tax-neutral position. The larger the FTC, the more unlikely it is that the person has enough Canadian tax owing to offset the entire FTC.

In the Go Public case mentioned earlier, the couples bank overlooked the fact that the husband was a U.S. citizen. Which brings us to

What If I Own Company Stock In My Plan When I Leave My Job

Your employer may require you to sell your shares when you leave the plan. You can then roll over the proceeds into an IRA or to your new employers plan. Or, if your old plan allows, you can roll over your shares from the plan directly into a rollover IRA established through a broker.

Check with your former employer about the rules governing the buying and selling of company stock, as well as the tax consequences. It may be to your advantage to take your distribution in stock rather than cash. If you intend to continue holding the stock, ask the receiving institution if they can accept another companys stock.

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Roth Ira Conversion Ladder

A Roth IRA conversion ladder is a series of Roth IRA conversions made year after year. It’s a way for people to tap their retirement savings early without penalty. The government lets you withdraw your Roth IRA conversions tax- and penalty-free after they’ve been in your account for five years, and Roth IRA conversion ladders leverage this to get around the government’s 10% early-withdrawal penalty on tax-deferred savings for those under 59 1/2.

You start by converting the sum you expect to spend in your first year of retirement from your 401 or other tax-deferred account to a Roth IRA at least five years beforehand so you can access it penalty-free when you retire. Then, four years before you’re ready to retire, you convert another sum you can use in your second year of retirement. You continue doing this until you have enough to last you until you’re 59 1/2, at which point you can use all your savings penalty-free.

It requires a lot of retirement savings to pull off, and it could result in a larger tax bill, but it’s a strategy worth considering if you plan to retire before you’re 59 1/2.

There are quite a few rules to keep in mind when you’re doing a 401 to Roth IRA conversion, but as long as you check your plan’s restrictions and prepare yourself for the accompanying tax bill, you shouldn’t run into any problems.

Dont Roll Over Employer Stock

There is one big exception to all of this. If you hold your company stock in your 401, it may make sense not to roll over this portion of the account. The reason is net unrealized appreciation , which is the difference between the value of the stock when it went into your account and its value when you take the distribution.

Youre only taxed on the NUA when you take a distribution of the stock and opt not to defer the NUA. By paying tax on the NUA now, it becomes your tax basis in the stock, so when you sell itimmediately or in the futureyour taxable gain is the increase over this amount.

Any increase in value over the NUA becomes a capital gain. You can even sell the stock immediately and get capital gains treatment.

In contrast, if you roll over the stock to a traditional IRA, you wont pay tax on the NUA now, but all of the stocks value to date, plus appreciation, will be treated as ordinary income when distributions are taken.

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When You Don’t Roll Over

Cashing out your account is a simple but costly option. You can ask your plan administrator for a checkbut your employer will withhold 20 percent of your account balance to prepay the tax youll owe. Plus, the IRS will consider your payout an early distribution, meaning you could owe the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty on top of combined federal, state and local taxes. That could total more than 50 percent of your account value.

Think TwiceThe repercussions of taking money out now could be enormous: If you took $10,000 out of your 401 instead of rolling it over into an account earning 8 percent tax-deferred earnings, your retirement fund could end up more than $100,000 short after 30 years.

If your former employers plan has provided strong returns with reasonable fees, you might consider leaving your account behind. You dont give up the right to move your account to your new 401 or an IRA at any time. While your money remains in your former employers 401 plan, you wont be able to make additional contributions to the account, and you may not be able to take a loan from the plan. In addition, some employers might charge higher fees if youre not an active employee.

Further, you might not qualify to stay in your old 401 account: Your employer has the option of cashing out your account if the balance is less than $1,000 though it must provide for the automatic rolling over of your assets out of the plan and into an IRA if your plan balance is more than$1,000.

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