Roth IRA Conversion Options

There are a couple of options to pay for a Roth IRA conversion.

You could pay the tax out of the conversion proceeds. That’s taking a direct hit on your retirement today, but confirming that you’ll be able to recapture the taxes paid during retirement can make it a reasonable economic transaction. And not just a marginal recapture of taxes paid, but one that includes the time value of money.

If you are age 62 or older and have equity in your home, you could apply for a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) appreciating line of credit. Unlike the traditional HELOC lines of credit, seniors can use monies from the HECM appreciating line of credit to fund anything without repayment. There are rules here in addition to being at least age 65. The house utilizing the HECM appreciating line of credit must be your prime residence and most advisers recommend staying in the home for life. If you sold your home the equity loans would be deducted from the sale of the house.

Another option germane to Baby Boomers is starting a home business or small business in the community. The start-up costs of a new business with the purpose of generating a profit could offset the tax bill from the conversion of your traditional retirement plan to a Roth IRA. Charitable giving could also lower your adjusted gross income (modified adjusted gross income). So whether you are starting a business as an entrepreneur or considering being benevolent as a philanthropist, there may be deductions that could soften the tax blow of the Roth IRA conversion.