Taxpayers who recharacterize Roth conversions and IRA contributions are faced with the daunting task of calculating the earnings (or losses) on the amount if such services are not provided by their IRA custodians. Proper calculation of the earnings/loss is as important as the recharacterization itself, and failure to include the correct amount could cause adverse consequences. Here we explain recharacterizations and help you understand the mechanics of calculating earnings or losses on the amounts you want to recharacterize.

Key Takeaways

• If you have a traditional IRA, you can convert it into a Roth IRA under a process known as recharacterization.
• If you do this, your new Roth IRA money will grow tax-exempt and you will use after-tax dollars to make contributions.
• But, you will have to pay the deferred income taxes owed on your traditional IRA when you convert to a Roth, although you will not pay an early withdrawal penalty.
• In this article, we go through the calculations to see how much taxes you would owe.
• The strategy makes most sense in a year where you are in a lower tax bracket.

The deadline for recharacterizing a Roth conversion or IRA contribution is your tax-filing deadline plus extensions. If you file the tax return on time (generally by April 15), you receive an automatic six-month extension, which means your deadline to recharacterize a 2019 contribution is October 15, 2020.

Recharacterize Roth Conversions

An individual may choose to recharacterize a Roth conversion for a few reasons: the conversion is a failed or ineligible conversion, the value of the assets has declined in value since the conversion, or the individual simply changed his or her mind and no longer wants to keep the assets in a Roth IRA.

When assets are converted, the taxable amount of the conversion is the value at the time the amount is initially converted, even if the assets have declined in value. For instance, if an individual converted assets valued at $100,000, and the assets declined in value to$50,000, the individual must pay tax on 100,000. As a result, many individuals choose to recharacterize conversions that have dropped in value, thus removing any tax liability associated with the conversion. Recharacterize IRA Contributions An individual may choose to recharacterize an IRA contribution to change the initial designation. For instance, an individual who makes a Traditional IRA contribution may recharacterize the contribution to a Roth IRA, thereby changing the contribution to a Roth IRA contribution or vice versa. The individual may choose to recharacterize a traditional IRA contribution if he or she is ineligible to receive a deduction for the contribution and feels it is then better to treat it as a Roth IRA contribution, for which earnings accrue on a tax-free basis. Alternatively, an individual may recharacterize a Roth IRA contribution to a Traditional IRA contribution to claim a tax deduction for the amount, or because he or she is ineligible for the Roth IRA contribution. Of course, the individual may recharacterize the amount simply because he or she feels the other IRA is a better financial choice. How to Recharacterize To recharacterize a conversion or contribution, you must move the assets from the IRA that first received the contribution (or conversion) to the IRA in which you want the assets to be maintained. Some financial institutions will process the recharacterization by simply changing the IRA from one type to another. Check with your IRA custodian/trustee about its procedure and any documentation requirements for processing a recharacterization. Calculating Recharacterization Earnings/Loss The IRS provides a special formula for calculating the earnings or losses on the amount that is being recharacterized. Here is the formula: ﻿\begin{aligned}&\text{NI}\ = \ \text{C}\times\ \frac{(\text{ACB}\ - \ \text{AOB})}{\text{AOB}}\\&\textbf{where:}\\&\text{NI}=\text{net income}\\&\text{C}=\text{contribution}\\&\text{AOB}=\text{adjusted opening balance} \\&\text{ACB}=\text{adjusted closing balance} \end{aligned}﻿ The computation period begins immediately before the contribution being recharacterized is made to the IRA and ends immediately prior to the recharacterizing of the contribution. If the IRA is not valued on a daily basis, then the most recently available fair market value preceding the contribution may be used as the beginning of the period, and the most recently available fair market value preceding the recharacterization is the ending period. Say, for example, that an IRA is not valued on a daily basis, and the owner receives monthly account statements. If the owner were recharacterizing a contribution in March 2017 and the contribution occurred in December 2016, he or she would use the November 2016 month-end value (from the November statement) as the beginning period (market value) and the February 2017 month-end statement as the ending fair market value. The following examples illustrate how to calculate earnings/loss on an amount that is being recharacterized: Calculation Example 1 Jill has an existing Roth IRA with a balance of80,000. In November 2016, Jill converted her traditional IRA, valued at $160,000, to her existing Roth IRA. In February 2017, Jill decides to recharacterize back to her traditional IRA the conversion that occurred in November 2016. In February 2017, her Roth IRA is valued at$225,000. Except for the conversion of $160,000, no other contributions or transfers were credited to the Roth IRA. No distributions occurred from the Roth IRA. Jill must add any earnings that accrued on the$160,000 (or subtract any loss) and recharacterize the total. She calculates the earnings as follows:

﻿\begin{aligned}&\text{NI}\ = \ \text{C}\qquad\qquad\ \times\qquad\qquad\qquad \frac{(\text{ACB}\ - \ \text{AOB})}{\text{AOB}}\\\\&\text{NI}\ =\ \160,000\quad \times\ \frac{(\225,000-[\80,000+\160,000])}{\80,000\ +\ \160,000}\\\\&\text{NI}\ =\ \160,000\quad \times\qquad\qquad \frac{\225,000\ - \ \240,000}{\240,000}\\\\&\text{NI}\ =\ \160,000\quad \times\qquad\qquad\qquad\quad \frac{-\15,000}{\240,000}\\\\&\text{NI}\ =\ \160,000\quad \times\qquad\qquad\qquad\quad -\0.0625\\\\&\text{NI}\ =\ \qquad\qquad \qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\quad -\10,000\\\\&\textbf{where:}\\&\text{NI}=\text{net income}\\&\text{C}=\text{contribution}\\&\text{ACB}=\text{adjusted closing balance}\\&\text{AOB}=\text{adjusted opening balance}\end{aligned}﻿

Jill's net loss on the conversion of $160,000 is$10,000. Therefore, she must recharacterize no more or less than $150,000 ($160,000-$10,000). Calculation Example 2 Jack made a contribution of$1,600 to his Traditional IRA on December 1, 2016. Before the contribution, his Traditional IRA balance was $4,800. In April 2017, when he filed his tax return, Jack realized that he was able to deduct only$1,200 on his tax return. Since he was unable to deduct the remaining $400 (of the$1,600), Jack decided to put that amount into a Roth IRA, in which earnings grow on a tax-free basis—unlike the earnings in a Traditional IRA, which grow on a tax-deferred basis.

To treat the $400 as a Roth IRA contribution, Jack must recharacterize the amount to his Roth IRA and must include any earnings or subtract any loss on the$400. The value of Jack's Traditional IRA when he recharacterizes the $400 in April is$7,600. No other contributions were made to the IRA, and no distributions were made from it. Jack calculates the earnings/loss as follows:

﻿\begin{aligned}&\text{NI}\ = \ \text{Contribution}\ \times\qquad\qquad\frac{(\text{ACB}\ - \ \text{AOB})}{\text{AOB}}\\\\&\text{NI}\ =\ \400\qquad \qquad\times\ \frac{(\7,600\ - \ [\4,800\ +\ \1,600])}{\4,800\ +\ \1,600}\\\\&\text{NI}\ =\ \400\qquad\qquad \times\qquad\quad\ \frac{\7,600\ - \ \6,400}{\6,400}\\\\&\text{NI}\ =\ \400\qquad\qquad \times\qquad\qquad\quad\ \ \frac{\1,200}{\6,400}\\\\&\text{NI}\ =\ \400\qquad\qquad \times\qquad\qquad\ \ \ \ \ \ \0.1875\\\\&\text{NI}\ =\qquad\quad\qquad \qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\quad\75\\\\&\textbf{where:}\\&\text{NI}=\text{net income}\\&\text{ACB}=\text{adjusted closing balance}\\&\text{AOB}=\text{adjusted opening balance}\end{aligned}﻿

The contribution of $400 earned$75 during the computation period. Jack must, therefore, recharacterize $475 ($400 + $75) to his Roth IRA. For tax purposes, the$400 will be treated as though it were made to the Roth IRA from the beginning.

Tax-Reporting Forms

Your IRA custodian will report your IRA contributions (to you and the IRS) on IRS Form 5498. This contribution will be reported even if it is later recharacterized, which means that if you recharacterize your contribution, you will receive two Form 5498s, one for the initial contribution and a second for the amount that is credited to the other IRA as a recharacterization. You will also receive one Form 1099-R for the IRA that first received the contribution. Form 1099-R is used to report distributions from retirement accounts. Your custodian will use a special code in box 7 of the Form 1099-R to indicate that the transaction is a recharacterization and therefore not taxable.

Partial recharacterizations must be reported on IRS Form 8606. Form 8606 is filed with your tax return, but you need not file form 8606 for full recharacterizations.

The Bottom Line

Since a failure to calculate and report your recharacterizations could result in consequences, make sure you consult with a competent tax professional for assistance with making the right choices for you. Also, be sure to submit your recharacterization instructions to your Roth IRA custodian in advance of the deadline.