Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA

Show expandable text

New (tax) year, new help!

Fixed Assets and UltraTax CS 2023 help is now on Help and Support. We're still moving articles, but you can find most content for the 2023 tax year there. Continue using the Help & How-To Center for tax years 2022 and older.

Refer to Publication 590-A: Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) and Publication 590-B: Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) for exact reporting requirements.

To enter data for a traditional IRA converted to a Roth IRA, complete the following steps.

  1. Open Screen 1099R in the Retirement folder and enter the total amount converted in box 1 and box 2a.
  2. Enter one of the following items for a Roth conversion:
    • Enter 2 in box 7 if the participant is under age 59 1/2, or
    • Enter 7 in box 7 if the participant is at least 59 1/2.

      Note: Do not use code J.

  3. Enter X in the IRA/SEP/SIMPLE field.
  4. Open the applicable unit of Screen 1099R-3, and enter the amount that was converted in the Conversion to Roth field.
  5. Open Screen IRA in the Retirement folder and enter the appropriate code in the Conversion from traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs field. Enter 2 if the taxpayer converted all of their traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs and received no other distributions (withdrawals) from traditional IRAs during 2018. For all other conversion scenarios, enter 1. The code in this field determines which lines of Form 8606 are calculated based upon Form 8606 instructions.
  6. Enter any current year contributions, basis information, and IRA values as necessary.

Notes

  • If you do not agree with the taxable amount calculating on Form 1040, line 4b, refer to Form 8606, Page 2, line 18. The amount from line 18 will carry to line 4b of Form 1040. To change Form 8606, line 18, you will need to modify the amount calculated on line 17. To do this, use the Roth IRA basis, Form 8606 line 17 (Force) field on Screen IRA, located under the Retirement folder. If the taxpayer has traditional IRA basis to be entered, refer to the next bullet point. The calculation of your Roth IRA basis can be viewed on the Roth IRA Worksheets, located in Forms View in the IRA folder.
  • The amount entered in the Traditional IRA basis field on Screen IRA, will calculate Form 8606, page 2, line 17. This will make the distribution taxable to the extent of the distribution minus the traditional IRA basis.

Related topics 

Was this article helpful?

Thank you for the feedback!