For those who earn an income that makes them ineligible to contribute to a Roth IRA, a mega backdoor Roth IRA may be an effective tool to help them save for retirement, and also get a potential tax break in their golden years.
Only a certain type of individual will likely choose to employ a mega backdoor Roth IRA as a part of their financial plans. And there are a number of conditions that have to be met for mega backdoor Roth to be possible.
Read on to learn what mega backdoor Roth IRAs are, how they work, and the important details that investors need to know about them.
What Is a Mega Backdoor Roth IRA?
The mega backdoor Roth IRA is a retirement savings strategy in which people who have 401(k) plans through their employer — along with the ability to make after-tax contributions to that plan — can roll over the after-tax contributions into a Roth IRA.
But first, it’s important to understand the basics of regular Roth IRAs. A Roth IRA is a retirement account for individuals (vs. an employer-sponsored account like a 401(k)). For tax year 2023, Roth account holders can contribute up to $6,500 per year (or $7,500 for those 50 and older) of their post-tax earnings. That is, income tax is being paid upfront on those earnings — the opposite of a traditional IRA. For 2024, they can contribute up to $7,000 (or $8,000 for those 50 and older).
Individuals can withdraw their contributions at any time, without paying taxes or penalties. For that reason, Roth IRAs are attractive and useful savings vehicles for many people.
But Roth IRAs have their limits — and one of them is that people can only contribute to one if their income is below a certain threshold.
In 2023 the limit is $138,000 for single people (people earning more than $138,000 but less than $153,000 can contribute a reduced amount); for married people who file taxes jointly, the limit is $218,000 (or between $218,000 to $228,000 to contribute a reduced amount).
In 2024 the limit is $146,000 for single people (people earning more than $146,000 but less than $161,000 can contribute a reduced amount); for married people who file taxes jointly, the limit is $230,000 (or between $230,000 to $240,000 to contribute a reduced amount).
How Does a Mega Backdoor Roth Work?
When discussing a mega backdoor Roth, it’s helpful to understand how a regular backdoor Roth IRA works. Generally, individuals with income levels above the thresholds mentioned who wish to contribute to a Roth IRA are out of luck. However, there is a workaround: the backdoor Roth IRA, a strategy that allows high-earners to fund a Roth IRA account by converting funds in a traditional IRA (which has no limits on a contributors’ earnings) into a Roth IRA. This could be useful if an individual expects to be in a higher income bracket at retirement than they are currently.
Mega backdoor Roth IRAs involve 401(k) plans. People who have 401(k) plans through their employer — along with the ability to make after-tax contributions to that plan — can potentially roll over up to $46,000 in 2024, and $43,500 in 2023, in after-tax contributions into a Roth IRA. That mega Roth transfer limit has the potential to boost an individual’s retirement savings.
Example Scenario: How to Pull Off a Mega Backdoor Roth IRA
The mega backdoor Roth IRA process is pretty much the same as that of a backdoor Roth IRA. The key difference is that while the regular backdoor involves converting funds from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA, the mega backdoor involves converting after-tax funds from a 401(k) into a Roth IRA.
Whether a mega backdoor Roth IRA is even an option will depend on an individual’s specific circumstances. These are the necessary conditions that need to be in place for someone to try a mega backdoor strategy:
- You have a 401(k) plan. People hoping to enact the mega backdoor strategy will need to be enrolled in their employer-sponsored 401(k) plan.
- You can make after-tax contributions to your 401(k). Determine whether an employer will allow for additional, after-tax contributions.
- The 401(k) plan allows for in-service distributions. A final piece of the puzzle is to determine whether a 401(k) plan allows non-hardship distributions to either a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k). If not, that money will remain in the 401(k) account until the owner leaves the company, with no chance of a mega backdoor Roth IRA move.
If these conditions exist, a mega backdoor strategy should be possible. Here’s how the process would work:
Open a Roth IRA — so there’s an account to transfer those additional funds to.
From there, pulling off the mega backdoor Roth IRA strategy may sound deceptively straightforward — max out 401(k) contributions and after-tax 401(k) contributions, and then transfer those after-tax contributions to the Roth IRA.
But be warned: There may be many unforeseen hurdles or expenses that arise during the process, and for that reason, consulting with a financial professional to help navigate may be advisable.
Who Is Eligible for a Mega Backdoor Roth
Whether you might be eligible for a mega backdoor Roth depends on your workplace 401(k) retirement plan. First, the plan would need to allow for after-tax contributions. Then the 401(k) plan must also allow for in-service distributions to a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k). If your 401(k) plan meets both these criteria, you should generally be eligible for a mega backdoor Roth IRA.
Contribution Limits
If your employer allows for additional, after-tax contributions to your 401(k), you’ll need to figure out what your maximum after-tax contribution is. The standard 401(k) contribution limit for all types of contributions to a 401(k) (meaning employee, employer, and after-tax contributions) in 2023 is $22,500 (or $30,000 for those 50 and older). For 2024, the limit is $23,000 (or $30,500 for those 50 and older).
The IRS allows up to $66,000, or $73,500 including catch-up contributions for those 50 and up, in total contributions to a 401(k) in 2023. For 2024, the total limits are $69,000, or 76,500 including catch-up contributions for those 50 and up.
So how much can you contribute in after-tax funds? Here’s an example. Say you are under age 50 and you contributed the max of $22,500 to your 401(k) in 2023, and your employer contributed $8,000, for a total of $30,500. That means you can contribute up to $35,500 in after-tax contributions to reach the total contribution level of $66,000.
Is a Mega Backdoor Roth Right For Me?
Given that this Roth IRA workaround has so many moving parts, it’s worth thinking carefully about whether a mega backdoor Roth IRA makes sense for you. These are the advantages and disadvantages.
Benefits
The main upside of a mega backdoor Roth is that it allows those who are earning too much to contribute to a Roth IRA a way to potentially take advantage of tax-free growth.
Plus, with a mega backdoor Roth IRA an individual can effectively supercharge retirement savings because more money can be stashed away. It may also offer a way to further diversify retirement savings.
Downsides
The mega backdoor Roth IRA is a complicated process, and there are a lot of factors at play that an individual needs to understand and stay on top of.
In addition, when executing a mega backdoor Roth IRA and converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, it could result in significant taxes, as the IRS will apply income tax to contributions that were previously deducted.
The Future of Mega Backdoor Roths
Mega backdoor Roths are currently permitted as long as you have a 401(k) plan that meets all the criteria to make you eligible.
However, it’s possible that the mega backdoor Roth IRA could go away at some point. In prior years, there was some legislation introduced that would have eliminated the strategy, but that legislation was not enacted.
The Takeaway
Strategies like the mega backdoor Roth IRA may be used by some investors to help achieve their retirement goals — as long as specific conditions are met, including having a 401(k) plan that accepts after-tax contributions.
While retirement may feel like far off, especially if you’re early in your career or still relatively young, it’s generally wise to start thinking about it sooner rather than later.
This article originally appeared on SoFi.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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IRA Deduction and Contribution Limits For Taxes: Everything You Need Need to Know
Broadly speaking, individual retirement accounts, or IRAs, offer some sort of tax benefit — either during the year that contributions are made or when distributions take place after retiring. But not all retirement accounts are taxed the same.
With a traditional IRA, it’s possible for certain individuals to both invest for their future and reduce their present tax liability. For tax year 2023, the maximum IRA deduction is $6,500 for individuals younger than 50, and $7,500 for those 50 and older. For tax year 2024, the maximum IRA deduction is $7,000 for people younger than 50, and $8,000 for those 50 and older.
To maximize deductions in a given year, the first step is understanding how IRA tax deductions work. A good place to start is learning the differences between common retirement accounts — and their taxation. And since each financial situation is different, an individual may also want to speak with a tax professional about their specific situation.
Read on to learn more about IRA tax deductions, including how both traditional and Roth IRA accounts are taxed in the U.S.
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First, here’s a quick refresher on tax deductions for income taxes — the tax owed/paid on a person’s paycheck, bonuses, tips, and any other wages earned through work. “Taxable income” also includes interest earned on bank accounts and some types of investments.
Tax deductions are subtracted from a person’s total taxable income. After deductions, taxes are paid on the amount of taxable income that remains. Eligible deductions can allow qualifying individuals to reduce their overall tax liability to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
For example, Person X earns $70,000 per year. They qualify for a total of $10,000 in income tax deductions. When calculating their income tax liability, the allowable deductions would be subtracted from their income — leaving $60,000 in taxable income. Person X then would need to pay income taxes on the remaining $60,000 — not the $70,000 in income that they originally earned.
For the 2023 tax year, 22% is the highest federal income tax rate for a person earning $70,000. By deducting $10,000 from their taxable income, they are able to lower their federal total tax bill by $2,200, which is 22% of the $10,000 deduction. (There may be additional state income tax deductions.)
A tax deduction is not the same as a tax credit. Tax credits provide a dollar-for-dollar reduction on a person’s actual tax bill — not their taxable income. For example, a $3,000 tax credit would eliminate $3,000 in taxes owed.
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Traditional IRA tax deductions are quite simple. If a qualifying individual under age 50 contributes the maximum allowed to a traditional IRA in a year — $6,500 for the 2023 tax year and $7,000 for the 2023 tax year — they can deduct the full amount of their contribution from their taxable income.
That said, you are not eligible to claim your IRA deduction if you are:
- Single and covered by a workplace retirement account and your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is more than $83,000 for tax year 2023 ($87,000 or more for tax year 2024)
- Married filing jointly and covered by a work 401(k) plan and your MAGI is more than $136,000 for tax year 2023 ( more than $143,000 for tax year 2024)
- Married, only your spouse is covered by a work 401(k) plan, and your MAGI is more than $228,000 for tax year 2023 ($240,000 or more for tax year 2024).
It’s worth noting that you may claim a partial deduction, depending on your income if you are:
- Single and covered by a workplace retirement account and your adjusted gross income is more than $73,000 and less than $83,000 for tax year 2023 (more than $77,000 and less than $87,000 for tax year 2024)
- Married filing jointly and covered by a work 401(k) plan and your MAGI is more than $116,000 and less than $136,000 for tax year 2023 (more than $123,000 and less than $143,000 for tax year 2024)
- Married, only your spouse is covered by a work 401(k) plan, and your MAGI is more than $218,000 and less than $228,000 for tax year 2023 (more than $230,000 and less than $240,000 for tax year 2024).
401(k), 403(b), and other non-Roth workplace retirement plans work in a similar way (contributions to Roth IRAs are not tax deductible). For the 2023 tax year, the contribution maximum for a 401(k) is $22,500 with an additional $7,500 catchup contribution for employees 50 and older. For tax year 2024, the contribution maximum is $23,000 with an additional $7,500 catchup contribution for employees 50 and older. A person under 50 who contributes the full amount in 2023 could then deduct $22,500 from their taxable income ($23,000 in 2024), potentially lowering their tax bracket.
One common source of confusion: The tax deduction for an IRA will reduce the amount a person owes in federal and state income taxes, but will not circumvent payroll taxes, which fund Social Security and Medicare. Also known as Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes, these are assessed on a person’s gross income. Both the employer and the employee pay FICA taxes at a rate of 7.65% each.
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Traditional IRA, 401(k), and other non-Roth retirement accounts are deemed “tax-deferred.” Money that enters into one of these accounts is deducted from an eligible person’s total income tax bill. In this way, qualifying individuals do not pay income taxes on that invested income until later.
Because these taxes are simply deferred until a later time, the money in the account is usually taxed when it’s withdrawn.
Here’s an example of this: Having reached retirement age, a person chooses to withdraw $30,000 per year from a traditional IRA plan. As far as the IRS is concerned, this withdrawal is taxable income. The traditional IRA money will be taxed as the income.
So, what’s the point of deferring taxes? Generally speaking, people may be in a higher marginal tax bracket as a working person than they are as a retired person. Therefore, the idea is to defer taxes until a time when an individual may pay proportionally less in taxes.
Tax Brackets and IRA Deductions
Income tax brackets can work in a stair-step fashion. Each bracket reveals what a person owes at that level of income. Still, when a person is “in” a certain tax bracket, they do not pay that tax rate on their entire income.
For instance, in 2023, single filers pay a 12% federal income tax rate for the income earned between $11,001 and $44,725. Then, the tax rate “steps up,” and they pay a 22% tax on the income earned that falls in the range of $44,726 and $95,375. Even if a person is a high-earner and “in” the 37% tax bracket, they still pay the lower rates on their lower levels of income.
Why is this worth noting? Because tax deductions reduce a person’s taxable income at their highest marginal rate (their highest “stair-step”). Using 2023 tax rates, a person with $70,000 in taxable income would be taxed like this:
- 10% up to $11,000 ($59,000 remaining)
- 12% up to $44,725 ($14,275 remaining)
- 22% on the remaining $14,275
However, if that same person contributes the maximum to their tax-deferred retirement account, they would be taxed 22% on the top amount minus what’s deductible. In other words, they wouldn’t be taxed 22% on the full $14,275.
401(k) Withdrawals and Taxation
Now, let’s compare that with the taxation on a $30,000 withdrawal from a 401(k). Assuming 2023 income tax rates, a $12,000 withdrawal would be taxed at a 10% rate up to $11,000 and then a 12% rate for the remaining $19,000.
Taxes are assessed at a person’s “effective,” or average, tax rate. This is another reason that some folks prefer to defer their taxes until later, when they can pay a hypothetically lower effective tax rate on their withdrawals, rather than taxes at their highest marginal rate.
But, here’s why it’s not so simple: All of the above assumes that income tax rates remain the same over time. And, income tax rates (and eligible deductions) can change with federal legislation.
Still, plenty of earners opt to reduce their tax bill at their highest rate in the current year — and a tax deduction via an eligible retirement contribution can do just that.
For individual tax questions, it’s a good idea to consult a tax professional with questions about specific scenarios.
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Simply put, there are no tax deductions for Roth retirement accounts. Both Roth IRA and Roth 401(k) account contributions are not tax-deductible.
The trade-off is that Roth money is not taxed when it is withdrawn in retirement, as is the case with tax-deferred accounts like a 401(k) and traditional IRA. In fact, this is the primary difference between Roth and non-Roth retirement accounts. With Roth accounts, taxes are already paid on money that is contributed, whereas income taxes on a non-Roth 401k are deferred until later.
So, then, what are some advantages of a Roth retirement account? All retirement accounts provide an additional type of tax benefit as compared to a non-retirement investment account: There are no taxes on interest or capital gains, which is money earned via the sale of an investment.
Someone might choose a Roth over a tax-deferred retirement account because they prefer to pay the income taxes up front, instead of in retirement. For example, imagine a person who earned $30,000 this year. They pay a relatively low income tax rate, so they simply may prefer to pay the income taxes now. That way, the taxes are potentially less of a burden come retirement age.
Not everyone qualifies for a Roth IRA. There are limits to how much a person can earn. For a single filer, the ability to contribute to a Roth IRA for tax year 2023 begins to phase out when a person earns more than $138,00 ($146,000 for tax year 2024), and is completely phased out at an income level of $153,000 in 2023 ($161,000 for tax year 2024). For a person that is married and filing jointly, the phase-out begins at $218,000 in 2023 ($230,000 for tax year 2024), ending at $228,000 in 2023 ($240,000 for 2024).
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The maximum amount a person is able to deduct from their taxes by contributing to a retirement account may correspond to an account’s contribution limits.
Here’s how much money can be put into an IRA for the 2023 tax year:
- Traditional IRA: $6,500 ($7,500 if age 50 or older), deductibility depends on whether the person is covered by a workplace retirement plan
- 401(k): $22,500 (additional $7,500 if age 50 or older)
- 403(b): $22,500 (additional $7,500 if age 50 or older)
- 457(b): $22,500 (additional $7,500 if age 50 or older)
- Thrift Savings Plan (TSP): $22,500 (additional $7,500 if age 50 or older)
- Simple IRA or 401(K): $15,500 (additional $3,500 if age 50 or older)
- SEP IRA: The lower of 25% of an employee’s income, or $66,000
- Solo 401(k): Either $22,500 or up to 100% of total earned income as employee, additional opportunity to contribute as the employer
Here are the maximum contributions for the 2024 tax year:
- Traditional IRA: $7,000 ($8,000 if age 50 or older), deductibility depends on whether the person is covered by a workplace retirement plan
- 401(k): $23,000 (additional $7,500 if age 50 or older)
- 403(b): $23,000 (additional $7,500 if age 50 or older)
- 457(b): $23,000 (additional $7,500 if age 50 or older)
- Thrift Savings Plan (TSP): $23,000 (additional $7,500 if age 50 or older)
- SEP IRA: The lower of 25% of an employee’s income, or $69,000
- Simple IRA or 401(K): $16,000 (additional $3,500 if age 50 or older)
The above lists are only meant as a guide and do not take into account all factors that could impact contribution or deduction limits — such as catch-up contributions. Anyone with questions about what accounts they qualify for should consult a tax professional.
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Different types of retirement accounts come with distinct tax benefits and, for eligible investors, IRA tax deductions. Opening a retirement account and contributing to certain tax-deferred accounts may affect how much a person owes in income taxes in a given year. Roth accounts may provide tax-free withdrawals later on.
This article originally appeared on SoFi.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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Tax Information: This article provides general background information only and is not intended to serve as legal or tax advice or as a substitute for legal counsel. You should consult your own attorney and/or tax advisor if you have a question requiring legal or tax advice.
Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.
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INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE
SoFi Invest encompasses two distinct companies, with various products and services offered to investors as described below: Individual customer accounts may be subject to the terms applicable to one or more of these platforms.
1) Automated Investing and advisory services are provided by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser (“SoFi Wealth“). Brokerage services are provided to SoFi Wealth LLC by SoFi Securities LLC.
2) Active Investing and brokerage services are provided by SoFi Securities LLC, Member FINRA (www.finra.org)/SIPC(www.sipc.org). Clearing and custody of all securities are provided by APEX Clearing Corporation.
For additional disclosures related to the SoFi Invest platforms described above please visit SoFi.com/legal.
Neither the Investment Advisor Representatives of SoFi Wealth, nor the Registered Representatives of SoFi Securities are compensated for the sale of any product or service sold through any SoFi Invest platform.
Disclaimer: The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of future results.
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