IRA Technicality Question: Are "Same trustee transfers" considered "Trustee-to-trustee transfers" for the one-rollover-per-year rule?

You're in the clear! What you're describing is actually an internal transfer or reallocation within the same financial institution, not a rollover at all. The one-rollover-per-year rule specifically applies to situations where you take possession of the funds (receiving a check made out to you) and then have 60 days to redeposit those funds into another IRA. That's a true "rollover" in IRS terminology. When you move money between IRA accounts at the same institution (Vanguard in your case), you're just changing which account holds the assets - the trustee never changes, and you never take possession of the funds. These transfers don't count toward your one-rollover-per-year limit. The same applies to direct trustee-to-trustee transfers (like moving an IRA from Vanguard to Fidelity directly). These also don't count toward the limit because you never receive the money. The only time you need to worry about the one-rollover-per-year rule is if you physically receive a distribution check made out to you personally, which doesn't sound like what you're planning to do.

Just wanted to share my experience with this exact issue! I was reorganizing my retirement accounts last year and was getting super confused about all these IRS rules. Then I found this amazing service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure everything out. I uploaded a PDF of my account statements and some IRS notices I had, and the AI analyzed everything and gave me clear guidance on my specific situation. It explained that transfers between accounts at the same institution wouldn't trigger the rollover limitation, and even helped me understand which specific form codes to look for on my statements to confirm everything was processed correctly. Saved me from having to spend hours on the phone with both my financial institution and the IRS! Super easy to use too - way less stressful than trying to parse IRS language on my own.

I tried out taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here, and wow - wish I'd known about this sooner! I was in a similar situation with multiple IRAs at Fidelity that I wanted to consolidate. I uploaded my statements and some past tax returns, and it immediately identified that what I wanted to do was an internal transfer, not a rollover. It explained that these transfers wouldn't count toward the one-per-year limit and even showed me exactly what forms to expect from Fidelity confirming the transfers. The best part was it looked at my specific accounts and noticed I had some non-deductible contributions in one of my Traditional IRAs and warned me about potential pro-rata rule implications I hadn't even considered! Saved me from what could have been a major tax headache. Definitely my new go-to resource for any tax questions - so much easier than wading through IRS publications.

If you're having trouble getting clear answers about these IRA transfers, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation last year with some complex IRA questions that my financial advisor couldn't clearly answer. After spending hours trying to get through to the IRS with no luck, I found Claimyr. They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own! You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed that transfers between accounts at the same institution are not subject to the one-rollover-per-year rule. She also walked me through exactly how these would be reported on my tax forms so I wouldn't have any issues. Honestly saved me so much stress and uncertainty.

I have to eat my words and apologize to @18. After dismissing Claimyr as a likely scam, I decided to try it myself since I've been trying to reach the IRS for weeks about an IRA rollover issue. I'm still in shock - I got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 25 minutes! I've literally never been able to get through in less than 2 hours on my own, and most times I just get the "call volume too high" message. The agent confirmed that transfers between IRA accounts at the same financial institution don't count as rollovers for the one-per-year limit. She also explained exactly how these would show up on my tax forms so I could verify everything was processed correctly. Seriously one of the most useful services I've found. If you need answers directly from the IRS about anything tax-related, especially these confusing rollover rules, it's absolutely worth it.

One thing no one has mentioned yet is that you should check with Vanguard directly about their internal process for these transfers. While it's true that same-trustee transfers don't count toward your one-rollover-per-year limit, different financial institutions have different internal procedures for handling these moves. Some might process it as a true internal transfer, while others might actually process it as a distribution and contribution even though you never touch the money. I had this exact issue with Fidelity a couple years ago. What I thought was a simple internal transfer between two IRAs ended up being processed as a distribution and contribution, which generated a 1099-R and 5498. It didn't ultimately impact my taxes since it was still handled correctly, but it created some confusion when I got those forms. Just call Vanguard's customer service to confirm exactly how they'll process the transfer and what forms you can expect to receive for tax reporting.

Just to add some clarity here - I work in financial services (not a tax professional though!) and deal with this frequently. The term "same-trustee transfer" is sometimes used in the industry, but the IRS generally just considers these as account-to-account transfers or internal transfers. They're not rollovers at all in IRS terminology. The one-rollover-per-year rule only applies when: 1) You take actual possession of the funds (receive a check in your name) 2) You redeposit those funds within 60 days What you're describing is neither a rollover nor a trustee-to-trustee transfer in the technical sense. It's simply an internal administrative change within the same institution. These have no limit and don't trigger any tax reporting events. Most major institutions like Vanguard have specific forms for these internal transfers to ensure they're processed correctly and don't trigger unnecessary tax reporting.

This is really helpful information from everyone! I'm in a similar situation with multiple Vanguard accounts that I've been wanting to consolidate for months but kept hesitating because I wasn't sure about the rollover rules. Based on all the responses here, it sounds like internal transfers at the same institution are pretty straightforward and don't count toward the one-rollover limit. I especially appreciate the advice about calling Vanguard directly to confirm their process and what forms to expect. One follow-up question - does anyone know if there are any limits on how many internal transfers you can do in a year? I have four different IRA accounts at Vanguard that I'd like to consolidate into two, so I'd be doing multiple transfers. Want to make sure there aren't any other rules I should be aware of before proceeding. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and expertise!

This is such a helpful discussion! I've been dealing with a similar situation and was getting overwhelmed by all the IRS terminology. One thing I'd add based on my recent experience - when I called Fidelity about consolidating my IRAs, they actually walked me through a "dry run" of what the process would look like before I committed to anything. They explained exactly how they'd process each transfer, what forms I'd receive, and even gave me a timeline for when everything would be completed. It was really reassuring to know exactly what to expect before moving forward. The representative also confirmed that internal transfers between my IRA accounts wouldn't generate any 1099-R forms since the money never left their custody, which eliminated my biggest concern about accidentally triggering tax issues. For anyone still feeling uncertain about this, I'd definitely recommend asking your financial institution to walk you through their specific process step-by-step. It only took about 10 minutes on the phone but gave me complete confidence to move forward with my consolidation plan.

This thread has been incredibly informative! As someone who's been putting off reorganizing my retirement accounts for way too long, reading through everyone's experiences has finally given me the confidence to move forward. I particularly appreciate the distinction that several people made about the terminology - that internal transfers within the same institution aren't technically "rollovers" at all in IRS speak, so the one-rollover-per-year rule doesn't even come into play. That makes so much more sense than trying to figure out whether same-trustee transfers count as trustee-to-trustee transfers. The advice about calling your financial institution for a "dry run" is golden. I'm definitely going to do that with my Schwab accounts before making any moves. It's such a simple step that could prevent a lot of headaches down the road. One small addition based on my own research - I've found that most major brokerages have online help articles or FAQs specifically about IRA consolidation that can be helpful to review before calling. They often include screenshots of the forms you'll need to fill out and examples of how the transfers will appear on your statements. It's nice to have that background knowledge when you're talking to a representative. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this community is such a valuable resource!

This has been such an enlightening thread! I'm dealing with a very similar situation - multiple IRAs at Vanguard that I've been wanting to consolidate but was nervous about the tax implications. What really clicked for me reading through everyone's experiences is that these internal transfers are fundamentally different from rollovers because you never actually receive the money. The one-rollover-per-year rule is specifically designed to prevent people from using their IRA as a short-term loan by taking distributions and redepositing them multiple times. I love the suggestion about doing a "dry run" with your financial institution. That seems like such a smart way to understand exactly what will happen before committing to anything. I'm definitely going to call Vanguard and ask them to walk me through their process step by step. One question for those who have already done this - did you consolidate all your accounts at once, or did you do it gradually over time? I'm wondering if there are any advantages to spacing out the transfers versus doing everything in one go. Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge and experiences - this community is amazing for getting real-world insights on these complex tax situations!