Forms related to a Backdoor Roth IRA conversion - when do I get 1099-R and 8606?
I work in sales and it's really tough to predict our family income from year to year. Last year we fully funded our Roth IRAs early and almost created a huge mess for ourselves since we barely made enough money to qualify for those contributions. This year I wanted to avoid all that stress, so I tried the backdoor Roth strategy. I set up a new traditional IRA, funded it, then had to wait for a full week for everything to settle (which was annoying because the money earned some interest while sitting there), and finally converted it to my existing Roth account. If I did this right, I think I need to submit a 1099-R and Form 8606 with my tax return next year. When I contacted Fidelity about getting these forms, they told me the 1099-R wouldn't be available until January. But I've had several people tell me I should be able to get these forms immediately. Can anyone tell me what's correct here? Should I be able to get these forms now or do I really have to wait until January?
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QuantumQuest
The confusion here is understandable! For a Backdoor Roth IRA conversion, you'll need both forms, but they're handled differently: For the 1099-R: Fidelity is correct. This form documents the conversion from Traditional to Roth and will be provided by them in January (typically by January 31st) for the previous tax year. This isn't something you can get immediately after the conversion. For Form 8606: This is actually a form YOU complete when filing your taxes, not something you request from Fidelity. It's used to report nondeductible contributions to traditional IRAs and distributions from IRAs. You'll fill this out yourself when you prepare your taxes. The good news is you've done the process correctly! The backdoor Roth strategy is a great way to fund your Roth when you're unsure about income limits.
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Jamal Anderson
•Wait, so I don't need to wait for Fidelity to send me Form 8606? I thought all tax forms came from financial institutions. How am I supposed to know how to fill it out myself? And do I need to fill it out now or when I do my taxes next year?
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QuantumQuest
•You're right that most tax forms come from financial institutions, but Form 8606 is one you complete yourself. You'll fill it out when you prepare your taxes next year - not now. The form is fairly straightforward, especially if you use tax software. You'll record your nondeductible contribution to the traditional IRA and then report the conversion to the Roth. The software will guide you through it, or if you use a tax preparer, they'll handle it based on the 1099-R from Fidelity plus your contribution information.
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Mei Zhang
I went through the exact same thing last year when I did my first backdoor Roth conversion! I was totally confused about the forms too. I found this amazing tool at https://taxr.ai that helped me understand exactly what forms I needed and how to report everything correctly. It analyzed my situation and showed me exactly where things needed to go on my tax return. Super helpful for complicated tax situations like backdoor Roth conversions where there's so much conflicting advice online.
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Liam McGuire
•Does this tool actually connect with Fidelity or other brokerages to pull your real data? I'm always skeptical about sharing my financial info with random websites. How exactly does it "analyze your situation"?
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Amara Eze
•I've heard about these AI tax tools but I'm not convinced they really understand the nuances of complex situations. How does it handle the pro-rata rule if you have existing pre-tax IRA funds? That's where most people mess up their backdoor Roth conversions.
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Mei Zhang
•It doesn't connect directly to your brokerage accounts, so no need to worry about sharing sensitive login credentials. You just upload your tax documents (like your 1099-R when you get it) or enter the information manually, and it analyzes the details to help you understand what forms you need and how to report everything. Regarding the pro-rata rule, it absolutely handles that! You enter information about all your IRAs, including any pre-tax balances, and it calculates exactly how the pro-rata rule affects your conversion. It even explains why certain portions might be taxable based on your specific situation. That's actually one of the most valuable features for backdoor Roth planning.
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Amara Eze
Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after my last comment and I'm really impressed! I was skeptical because I have a complicated situation with multiple IRAs (some pre-tax, some after-tax), but it correctly identified that I needed to consider the pro-rata rule. It even suggested timing strategies I hadn't thought of to minimize the tax impact of my backdoor Roth conversions. The explanations were super clear and now I finally understand why certain portions of my conversions were taxable. Definitely recommend it if you're dealing with Backdoor Roth IRA conversions!
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Giovanni Ricci
If you're dealing with Fidelity and having trouble getting clear answers, I strongly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to an actual human specialist. I was going in circles with their regular customer service about my backdoor Roth conversion documentation, and Claimyr got me connected to their retirement specialist team in under 10 minutes. They even have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Saved me hours of frustration when I needed clarification on similar forms issues.
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NeonNomad
•How does this actually work? I've spent literally HOURS on hold with Fidelity before. Are you saying this somehow jumps the queue? That seems impossible...
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Fatima Al-Hashemi
•This sounds like a paid advertisement. There's no way any service can magically get you through to Fidelity faster. They have their own phone systems and queues. I'll believe it when I see actual proof this works.
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Giovanni Ricci
•It works by using call technology that navigates the phone trees and holds your place in line. It's not about "jumping the queue" - it's about not having to personally sit there listening to hold music for hours. When an actual representative is about to answer, you get a call connecting you. I was extremely skeptical too! I thought it sounded like snake oil, but after waiting on hold with Fidelity for over an hour one day, I was desperate enough to try anything. It worked exactly as advertised - I went about my day, and then got a call connecting me directly to a Fidelity specialist when they were finally available. No magic, just clever technology that saves you from having to personally wait on hold.
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Fatima Al-Hashemi
I have to eat my words here. After my skeptical comment, I had another frustrating situation with Fidelity about my own Backdoor Roth forms that needed sorting out. After 40 minutes on hold the traditional way, I hung up and tried Claimyr out of desperation. Got a call back in about 15 minutes connecting me to a Fidelity rep who actually knew about Backdoor Roth reporting requirements. Ended up getting confirmation that yes, the 1099-R only comes in January, but they noted in my account to make sure it properly shows the conversion coding. Worth every penny for the time saved.
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Dylan Mitchell
Quick tip from someone who's done backdoor Roth conversions for 5 years now: keep really good records of your contributions and conversions! I create a simple spreadsheet each year tracking: - Date and amount of traditional IRA contribution - Date and amount of Roth conversion - Any earnings between contribution and conversion Having this record has saved me multiple times when preparing my taxes, especially that first year when I wasn't sure what I was doing. The earnings piece is particularly important since those are taxable even though the conversion of your contributions isn't.
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Sofia Martinez
•Do you also track the cumulative nondeductible basis across years? I've heard that's important for Form 8606 if you do backdoor Roth conversions regularly.
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Dylan Mitchell
•Yes, tracking your cumulative nondeductible basis is essential! I have a separate column in my spreadsheet for exactly this. Each year, I carry forward the total nondeductible basis from previous years and add the current year's nondeductible contribution. This running total needs to be reported on Form 8606 line 2 (after entering the current year's nondeductible contributions on line 1). Getting this number wrong can cause major headaches if you're audited, as it affects how much of future distributions would be taxable.
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Dmitry Volkov
Does anyone know which tax software handles backdoor Roth conversions the best? I tried using TurboTax last year and it was super confusing trying to enter all this stuff correctly.
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Ava Thompson
•I've had really good experiences with FreeTaxUSA for backdoor Roth reporting. It asks all the right questions about nondeductible contributions and walks you through Form 8606 step by step. Much more straightforward than TurboTax and WAY cheaper too.
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Evelyn Kim
Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice! This community is amazing. I feel much more confident about my backdoor Roth conversion now. Just to summarize what I've learned: 1. Fidelity is correct - the 1099-R will come in January, not immediately 2. Form 8606 is something I fill out myself when doing taxes, not a form they send me 3. I need to keep detailed records of contribution dates, amounts, and any earnings 4. The pro-rata rule could affect me if I have other pre-tax IRA funds One follow-up question: since I had to wait a week for the funds to settle and they earned some interest during that time, how do I figure out exactly how much of that interest is taxable? My Fidelity account just shows the total conversion amount but doesn't break down the original contribution vs. the earnings portion.
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