Backdoor Roth IRA Calculator

Roth IRA direct contributions phase out in 2026 at $153,000–$168,000 (single) and $242,000–$252,000 (married filing jointly), per IRS Publication 590-A. There is no income limit on traditional IRA contributions or Roth conversions, although contribution deductibility and conversion taxation still depend on your facts. The 2010 elimination of the $100K Roth conversion income limit unintentionally created an open door: contribute to a traditional IRA (non-deductible due to your income or workplace coverage), then convert that contribution to a Roth IRA. Result: the same long-run tax-free growth as a direct Roth contribution. Congress has discussed restricting the strategy, so verify current law before executing.

The IRS treats ALL your traditional IRA balances as one pool for conversion taxation. If you have $92,500 of pre-tax traditional IRA money and contribute $7,500 of after-tax basis through the backdoor, the IRS treats your $100,000 total IRA as 7.5% after-tax and 92.5% pre-tax. When you convert $7,500, 92.5% of that ($6,938) is taxed as ordinary income. The basis is spread proportionally across the IRA. This catches countless first-time backdoor users off guard. Solutions: (1) Roll your existing pre-tax IRA balances into your employer 401(k) plan before doing the backdoor — 401(k) balances are not part of the IRA pro-rata pool. (2) Accept the partial taxation if the rollover is not feasible. (3) Skip the strategy entirely if neither option works. The IRS-defined IRA pool includes Traditional, SEP, SIMPLE, and rollover IRAs but excludes employer 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and 457s.

Step 1: Open a traditional IRA at your brokerage if you do not already have one with zero balance. Step 2: Make a non-deductible contribution (up to $7,500 in 2026, $8,600 if 50+). Step 3: Wait a few days for the contribution to settle (some practitioners convert same-day; the IRS has clarified this is acceptable). Step 4: Convert the traditional IRA balance to a Roth IRA via your brokerage's conversion form. Step 5: File IRS Form 8606 with your tax return documenting the non-deductible contribution and the conversion. Form 8606 is the critical paperwork — failure to file creates audit risk and can subject the same dollars to double taxation later. Step 6: Repeat annually. Many high earners set a calendar reminder for early January to execute the backdoor each year.

The Mega Backdoor Roth uses after-tax 401(k) contributions converted to Roth, allowing dramatically larger annual Roth additions. The 2026 total 401(k) annual additions limit (employee + employer + after-tax) is $72,000, less the $24,500 employee elective deferral minus your employer contribution. For a typical high earner with a $10K employer match, this leaves $37,500 of after-tax contribution space that can be converted to Roth via in-plan Roth conversion or in-service distribution. Combined with the $7.5K backdoor IRA, that's $45,000 in additional Roth dollars per year beyond standard limits. Requirements: your 401(k) plan must permit after-tax contributions AND either in-plan Roth conversions or in-service distributions. Many corporate plans do — verify with your plan administrator. The mega backdoor is the most powerful retirement strategy available to high earners with the right plan features.