If your 2026 income is above $168,000 single or $252,000 married filing jointly, you can’t contribute to a Roth IRA directly. You can still get money into one: contribute up to $7,500 ($8,600 at 50 or older) to a traditional IRA without taking a deduction, then convert it to a Roth. Done with no other pre-tax IRA money, the tax cost is close to zero. Done with an old rollover IRA sitting at the same custodian, most of the conversion can become taxable because of the pro rata rule. That one fact decides whether this is a 20-minute job or something to get help with.
The glossary entry on the backdoor Roth has the short version. This guide covers who it suits, how to do it cleanly, and where it goes wrong.
Who it’s for in 2026
| Single | Married filing jointly | |
|---|---|---|
| Roth contribution phases out | $153,000 to $168,000 | $242,000 to $252,000 |
| Traditional IRA deduction phases out, if covered by a workplace plan | $81,000 to $91,000 | $129,000 to $149,000 |
| IRA contribution limit | $7,500 (+$1,100 at 50+) | $7,500 each (+$1,100 at 50+) |
Income here is modified adjusted gross income. If you’re above the Roth range and covered by a 401(k) at work, your traditional IRA contribution isn’t deductible either, which is exactly the situation the backdoor is for. You do need earned income at least equal to what you contribute.
How to do it, step by step
- Add up every pre-tax IRA you own: traditional, rollover, SEP and SIMPLE. The number that matters is the total on December 31 of the year you convert.
- Make the nondeductible contribution. For 2026, you have until April 15, 2027.
- Convert to your Roth IRA. Many people convert within days, so there’s little or no growth to tax. Conversions have no income limit, and since 2018 they can’t be undone.
- File Form 8606 with your return for the contribution year, and for the conversion year if it’s different. It records your after-tax basis. Skipping it carries a $50 penalty and, worse, can mean paying tax twice on the same money later.
The pro rata rule
You can’t convert only the after-tax dollars. The IRS treats all your IRAs as one pot and makes each dollar converted partly taxable in proportion to the pre-tax money in that pot on December 31.
The usual fix is to roll pre-tax IRA money into your current employer’s 401(k) or 403(b) before December 31, if the plan accepts incoming rollovers. Workplace plan balances don’t count in the pro rata math. A self-employed person can sometimes do the same with a solo 401(k). Each spouse’s IRAs are figured separately, so one spouse’s rollover IRA doesn’t spoil the other’s backdoor.
The mega backdoor, briefly
Some 401(k) plans allow after-tax contributions above the normal $24,500 deferral limit, plus a conversion to Roth inside the plan or a withdrawal to a Roth IRA. For 2026 the total that can go into a 401(k) from you and your employer is $72,000 before catch-up contributions. Whether you can use it depends entirely on your plan document, so ask HR or the plan administrator.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting an old IRA. A rollover IRA from a past job, or a SEP IRA from side income, quietly makes most of the conversion taxable.
- Not filing Form 8606. Your basis goes unrecorded and the IRS has no way to know the contribution was already taxed.
- Investing before converting. Weeks of gains in the traditional IRA become taxable on conversion. Small, but avoidable.
- Contributing too much. Excess contributions face a 6% tax each year until fixed. Check the limit and that you have enough earned income.
- Withdrawing converted money too soon. Amounts converted are subject to a 10% additional tax if withdrawn within five years and before 59½, to the extent the conversion was taxable.
- Assuming your custodian handles the tax reporting. It reports the conversion on Form 1099-R; you report the basis.
Questions to ask an advisor
- Do I have any pre-tax IRA money that will make this taxable, and can it move into my 401(k)?
- Does my 401(k) allow after-tax contributions and in-plan conversions?
- Will you prepare or check my Form 8606, or coordinate with my tax preparer?
- Should I be doing a larger Roth conversion instead, given my bracket now and later?
- How does this fit with my other accounts and asset location?
When a fee-only advisor is worth it, and what it costs
If you have no pre-tax IRA money and a W-2 job, you can do this yourself once a year. Paying for advice makes sense when the situation is messier: rollover or SEP IRAs to clean up first, a business with its own retirement plan, a mega backdoor option to evaluate, or a larger question about Roth conversions. Physicians moving from training to an attending salary often face several of these at once; see financial advisor for doctors.
Among fee-only firms that publish prices, hourly advice has a median of $300 an hour (middle half $250 to $350), so a one-time check of your setup and Form 8606 is often a few hours. A full one-time plan is $2,000, and ongoing planning $4,500 a year. A CPA or enrolled agent can also handle the filing side; see CFP vs CFA vs CPA.
To compare advisors who work with high earners, browse advisors for high earners and advisors for HENRYs, the tax planning and physicians specialties, or the high earners and HENRY pages. The year-end tax planning checklist has the December 31 and April 15 dates for each step.