Making a Backdoor Roth IRA Contribution & Conversion for 2022 in 2023 - Tax Implications?
I made a contribution of $12,500 to my Traditional IRA back in April 2023 (just before the tax deadline). I designated $6000 of that amount for the 2022 tax year, with the remaining $6500 counting toward 2023. After making the contribution, I immediately converted the entire $12,500 into my Roth IRA. Now I'm working on my 2023 tax return and I'm getting hit with some unexpected tax consequences. I thought the backdoor Roth conversion would be straightforward, but it looks like I'm missing something important about the timing of contributions versus conversions across different tax years. Can someone explain what's happening here and if I've made a mistake? I'm worried I might be getting double-taxed or missing some form I should be filing. Any advice would be really appreciated!
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Emma Davis
The issue you're running into is likely related to Form 8606, which needs to be filed separately for each tax year involved in your backdoor Roth process. For the 2022 tax portion: You should have reported the $6000 non-deductible Traditional IRA contribution on your 2022 tax return using Form 8606. This establishes your basis so you don't get taxed again when converting. For the 2023 tax portion: You'll need to report both the $6500 contribution for 2023 AND the full $12,500 conversion on your 2023 return. The conversion is reported on Form 8606 again, but you'll also need to report it on your 1040. The tricky part is that conversions always count for the calendar year they occur in (2023), regardless of which tax year the contributions were designated for. So while your contributions were split between tax years, the entire conversion is a 2023 event for tax purposes.
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Javier Morales
•Thanks for explaining! So if I didn't file Form 8606 with my 2022 return (which I've already filed), do I need to file an amended return for 2022? Or can I just include both years' worth of Form 8606 information with my 2023 return?
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Emma Davis
•Yes, you should file an amended return (Form 1040-X) for 2022 along with a completed Form 8606 to properly establish your non-deductible basis for that $6000 contribution. This is important because without it, the IRS may treat your entire conversion as taxable income when it shouldn't be. For your 2023 return, you'll complete another Form 8606 showing the $6500 non-deductible contribution for 2023 and the full $12,500 conversion. The form will calculate how much of the conversion is taxable based on your total non-deductible basis ($6000 + $6500 = $12,500), which should result in little to no taxable amount if done correctly.
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GalaxyGlider
I ran into a similar situation last year and ended up using https://taxr.ai to help sort it out. The system analyzed my previous returns and identified that I needed to file Form 8606 for both years involved in my backdoor Roth. What's nice is that it explained exactly how the contribution/conversion timing works across tax years and showed me where my basis tracking went wrong. I was able to see how much of my conversion would be taxable and why. The detailed explanation of how the pro-rata rule applied to my situation was super helpful since I had other IRA assets. It might be worth checking out if you're struggling with the forms or calculations!
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Malik Robinson
•How exactly does this work with multiple years involved? Does it actually help prepare the amended return too or just tell you what went wrong?
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Isabella Silva
•I'm skeptical about these tax tools. Does it actually understand the nuances of backdoor Roth IRAs? That's pretty specialized knowledge and I've had bad experiences with tax software getting it wrong.
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GalaxyGlider
•It helps identify exactly which forms need to be filed for each tax year and explains the reporting requirements step by step. While it doesn't prepare the amended return directly, it gives you a detailed breakdown of what needs to be included and how to calculate your basis properly. This makes it much easier to complete the forms yourself or provide the right information to your tax preparer. Regarding the specialized knowledge - yes, it definitely understands backdoor Roth IRA nuances. It specifically handles Form 8606 calculations, pro-rata rules, and timing issues between contributions and conversions. I was impressed that it caught subtleties that even my previous tax software missed, like properly tracking basis across multiple years of non-deductible contributions.
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Isabella Silva
I tried taxr.ai after posting here and I have to admit I was wrong to be skeptical. It actually showed me that I'd been incorrectly reporting my backdoor Roth conversions for TWO years! Apparently I needed to file Form 8606 for EACH year, not just the conversion year. The explanation of how the basis tracking works across tax years made things much clearer - I didn't realize that contributions and conversions are treated separately based on when they occur vs. what tax year they're designated for. Fixed my returns and I'm no longer worried about getting a notice from the IRS!
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Ravi Choudhury
If you're having trouble getting clear answers from the IRS about this situation, I highly recommend using https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS representative. I spent weeks trying to get clarification on a similar backdoor Roth issue and kept hitting automated systems. Claimyr got me through to a real person at the IRS within about 15 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own. The agent was able to confirm exactly what forms I needed to file and how to properly report the transactions. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c It was honestly such a relief to get definitive answers directly from the IRS rather than trying to piece together information from various online sources.
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Freya Andersen
•How does this actually work? Do they just call the IRS for you or what? Seems weird that someone else could get through when I can't.
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Omar Farouk
•Yeah right... like some service can magically get through when the IRS phone lines are jammed. This sounds like a scam to me. The IRS is impossible to reach - that's just how it is.
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Ravi Choudhury
•They don't call on your behalf - instead, they use technology to navigate the IRS phone system and secure a place in line, then call you when they're about to connect with an agent. You take the call directly, so you're the one speaking with the IRS representative. It's basically like having someone wait on hold for you. The reason it works is they've mapped out the optimal times to call and have systems that can navigate the phone trees efficiently. They're not doing anything you couldn't theoretically do yourself with enough persistence and luck, but they've optimized the process. I was skeptical too until I tried it, but having wasted hours trying to get through myself, the time saved was absolutely worth it.
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Omar Farouk
I want to apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr. After continuing to get nowhere with the IRS for days, I broke down and tried it. Within 20 minutes, I was actually talking to a real IRS person who walked me through exactly how to handle my backdoor Roth reporting. The agent confirmed I needed to file an amended 2022 return with Form 8606 to establish my basis for the $6000 contribution, even though the conversion happened in 2023. They also explained how to complete the 2023 Form 8606 to show both the new contribution and the full conversion. Saved me hours of frustration and probably prevented a notice or audit down the road!
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CosmicCadet
One thing to watch out for with backdoor Roth IRAs - if you have ANY other traditional IRA, SEP IRA, or SIMPLE IRA funds that have pre-tax money, you'll get hit with taxes based on the pro-rata rule. The IRS looks at ALL your IRA money across all accounts. For example, if you have $50,000 in a traditional IRA from an old 401k rollover and you do a $6,000 non-deductible contribution followed by a conversion, you can't just convert the $6,000 tax-free. The IRS will consider it proportional to your total IRA balance.
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Chloe Harris
•Does this pro-rata rule apply even if the other traditional IRA is with a different company? Like if my backdoor Roth is with Vanguard but I have an old IRA at Fidelity?
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CosmicCadet
•Yes, the pro-rata rule applies regardless of where your IRA accounts are held. The IRS doesn't care if they're at different institutions - they look at the total of all your traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs combined when calculating how much of a conversion is taxable. It's one of the most common mistakes people make with backdoor Roth conversions. The only way around it is to either convert all your pre-tax IRA money (and pay the taxes), or if you have a 401k that allows it, roll your pre-tax IRA funds into the 401k before doing the backdoor Roth process.
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Diego Mendoza
Has anyone used TurboTax for reporting a backdoor Roth? I'm in a similar situation and wondering if it handles this correctly or if I need to go to a tax professional.
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Anastasia Popova
•I used TurboTax last year for my backdoor Roth and it worked fine, but you have to be careful about how you enter everything. Make sure you indicate that your Traditional IRA contribution was non-deductible. There's a specific section for Form 8606 in TurboTax where you'll report both the contribution and conversion.
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Diego Mendoza
•Thanks for sharing your experience! I'll look for that Form 8606 section specifically. Did you find that TurboTax explained the process well, or did you need to already understand what you were doing?
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