Investment and Finance

Yes, you can legally convert those funds back into your Roth IRA. This sequence—moving a direct contribution to a Traditional IRA and then converting it to a Roth IRA—is a standard, IRS-approved remedy often referred to as a Backdoor Roth IRA. Since you have already completed the re-characterization of your original Roth contribution plus any earnings into a Traditional IRA, the IRS now views this money as if it went into the Traditional IRA in the first place. You can execute the Roth conversion immediately, as the IRS does not require a waiting period between a re-characterization and a conversion. When you do this, you should move the entire balance from the Traditional IRA back to the Roth IRA.Your original contribution amount counts as a nondeductible basis and will not be taxed again upon conversion. However, any investment growth or earnings that occurred before the conversion will be subject to ordinary income tax. Additionally, you must watch out for the Pro-Rata Rule: if you own any other pre-tax IRAs, such as a Rollover IRA or a traditional SEP-IRA, the IRS requires you to aggregate them, meaning a portion of your conversion will be taxed proportionally based on your total pre-tax versus post-tax IRA balances. Finally, to keep everything legal and documented, you must file IRS Form 8606 with your tax return to report the nondeductible Traditional IRA contribution and the subsequent conversion. Your brokerage will also send you Forms 1099-R and 5498 next year to document these moves for your records.To ensure this transition is entirely tax-efficient, check if you have any other pre-tax IRAs or if the contribution gained any investment earnings before you re-characterized it.

Hello Frederic,

You can withdraw your Roth contribution anytime with no penalty. However, the portion of the interest earned or growth will need to remain in the account for 5 years prior to the withdrawal in order to avoid the early penalty of 10% for the federal. Please be aware that some states impose an early withdrawal penalty as well. Assuming you are over 59 1/2 years, you won't need to be concerned about the penalty on the portion of the growth as long as it stays in your account for 5 years. There is an interesting fact that the 5 year period starts counting down with the first account opening. All subsequent Roth money contributed will be part of the original contribution.