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aeplus t1_ja7oc31 wrote

Most people do backdoor Roth conversions as /u/Mr_Evil_Dr_Porkchop described.

But, some people who followed the general advice of rolling their sizable 401ks over to traditional IRAs are no longer able to do the backdoor Roth without getting hit be the pro-rata rule. I am in this camp, so I generally just contribute to a tax-exempt bond fund in a taxable account. It is also possible to do an after-tax contribution to a traditional IRA account and maintain the basis on IRS Form 8606 every year.

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tratratrakx OP t1_ja7wuf9 wrote

Do you know if that pro rule applies if I roll my entire traditional ira into my 401(k)? I believe it’s possible, but does it open up any more options?

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DeluxeXL t1_ja7yzue wrote

The act of rolling over from IRA to 401k is not subject to pro rata rule. However, do not roll over after-tax balance from IRA to 401k.

If all of your traditional IRAs are 100% pretax now, you can roll all of them over to 401k. Then you can do a clean backdoor Roth.

On the other hand, if you already made, for example, a $6k nondeductible contribution, roll over all but the $6k to 401k. (Sell all investments first so the account value stops fluctuating.)

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tratratrakx OP t1_ja8009s wrote

Got it, thank you! This seems like a good option.

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aeplus t1_ja8qzxz wrote

I hope you have better luck at this than me. My current employer's plan does not allow "reverse rollovers."

I am actually thinking about finding a federal government job just because I know for certain that the TSP allows reverse rollovers.

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