Should Retirees Do a Roth Conversion Before RMDs Start? (w/Examples) + FAQs

This article reflects federal tax rules as of June 2026 and covers tax year 2025 (with 2026 figures noted where they apply). State rules vary and are addressed separately below. Tax law changes — confirm current figures before you file or convert.

This article is educational and is not a substitute for advice from a licensed CPA, tax attorney, or financial advisor for your specific situation. When your accounts are large, your income is near an IRMAA or phase-out edge, or an estate is involved, get personal help before you convert.

Quick Answer

Often yes — for many retirees, converting traditional IRA money to a Roth during the low-income “gap years” before required minimum distributions begin at age 73 lowers lifetime taxes. It works best when your current bracket is below your future bracket and you can pay the tax from outside savings.

A Roth conversion moves money from a pretax account, where every future dollar is taxable, into a Roth, where future growth and withdrawals come out tax-free. The catch is timing: once RMDs start at age 73, those forced withdrawals stack on top of any conversion, push you into higher brackets, and can raise your Medicare premiums — so the cheapest years to act are the ones before the forced income arrives.

The stakes are real and the window is short. The SECURE 2.0 Act set the RMD age at 73 today and 75 starting in 2033, and a 2024 IRS report shows millions of households hold trillions in pretax accounts that have never been taxed. Every year you wait is one fewer low-bracket year to act in.

Here is what you will learn:

🎯 How to tell, with real numbers, whether converting before 73 actually saves you money or just prepays tax for nothing.
🧮 A full worked example showing exactly how much tax a bracket-filling conversion costs and saves.
🏥 How conversions interact with Medicare IRMAA surcharges and Social Security taxation — the traps most people miss.
⏳ The “RMD-first” rule that blocks conversions once you turn 73, plus the two separate 5-year clocks.
✅ A step-by-step plan, the Form 8606 paperwork, the deadlines, and seven costly mistakes to avoid.

What a Roth Conversion Actually Is

A Roth conversion is a voluntary move of money from a traditional (pretax) retirement account into a Roth account. You report the converted amount as ordinary income in the year you do it, pay tax on it now, and in exchange the money grows tax-free and comes out tax-free in retirement.

The reason this matters before RMDs is simple: traditional IRA and 401(k) dollars are never tax-free. The government is a silent partner who eventually collects. A conversion lets you choose when to pay that partner — ideally in a year when your rate is low — instead of letting the IRS choose for you through forced RMDs at 73.

The consequence of ignoring this choice is a “tax time bomb.” If a large pretax balance keeps compounding untouched, the eventual RMDs can be far larger than the income you actually need, taxed at rates higher than today’s. A reader named Carol, age 64, retired with a $900,000 IRA and almost no other income; by doing nothing, her first RMD at 73 (after growth) could exceed $60,000 a year on its own — income she may not even want.

A common misconception is that a conversion is the same as a withdrawal you can spend. It is not. The money stays invested for retirement; only its tax wrapper changes. What you should do now is map your “gap years” — the stretch between retirement and age 73 — because those are usually your cheapest years to convert.

The Gap Years: Your Cheapest Window

The “gap years” are the low-income years after you stop working but before Social Security, a pension, and RMDs all turn on. Taxable income often dips during this stretch, which can leave room at the bottom of your tax brackets.

Filling that room with a conversion taxed at 12% or 22% can be a bargain compared with paying 24% or more later, when stacked RMDs and Social Security arrive together. An advisor analysis of the 2026 landscape describes a typical retiree with a roughly 10-year window (ages 63–72) before RMDs hit near $54,000 a year.

The consequence of skipping these years is permanent: you cannot reclaim a low-bracket year once it passes. The next step is to estimate your taxable income for each year before 73 and see how much “bracket space” sits unused.

When RMDs Start — and Why the Clock Drives Everything

Required minimum distributions are the amounts the IRS forces you to withdraw from pretax retirement accounts each year, whether you need the money or not. Under SECURE 2.0, the starting age is 73 for anyone born from 1951 through 1959, and it rises to 75 for those born in 1960 or later (starting in 2033).

Your first RMD is due by April 1 of the year after you turn 73, and every RMD after that is due by December 31. Delaying that first one to April 1 means two RMDs land in the same calendar year, which can spike your income — so most people take the first RMD in the year they turn 73 instead.

The penalty for missing an RMD is steep. Under SECURE 2.0 it is 25% of the amount you failed to withdraw, dropping to 10% if you correct it promptly, as the IRS RMD rules explain. A reader named David who forgets his $40,000 RMD could owe a $10,000 penalty on top of the regular tax.

The misconception here is that RMDs are small. They are not, and they grow each year because the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table divisor shrinks as you age — 26.5 at 73, 25.5 at 74, and so on. What you should do is calculate your projected RMD at 73 today: take your current pretax balance, grow it at your expected return to age 73, and divide by 26.5. If that number looks uncomfortably high, conversions before 73 are worth serious study.

The Rule That Closes the Door: RMDs Come First

Here is the timing rule that surprises people most. Once you reach RMD age, you must take your full RMD for the year before you are allowed to convert any of that account to a Roth, as confirmed in IRA custodian guidance.

An RMD itself can never be converted — it must be withdrawn and taxed. So at 73 and beyond, your “low-bracket room” is already partly filled by the forced RMD before you can convert a single extra dollar.

The consequence is that conversions get more expensive and less effective after 73, because the RMD eats the cheap bracket space first. That is precisely why the years before 73 are the golden window — you have the whole bracket to work with. The action step: if you are 70, 71, or 72, prioritize conversions now, while no RMD is in the way.

Which Situation Applies to You?

The right answer depends on your numbers, not a slogan. Use this to find the part of the article that fits you.

You are 60–72, retired, with modest income and a large pretax balance. This is the classic gap-year case — conversions are most likely to help. Focus on the bracket-filling example below.
You are still working with high income. Converting now may just pile income on top of a salary at a high rate. Usually better to wait for the gap years; revisit the pros and cons.
You are already 73+ and taking RMDs. Conversions are still possible, but the RMD must come out first. See the “RMDs come first” rule above.
You expect a much lower bracket later (early retirement, low spending). Converting may not pay — read the “When NOT to Convert” cons below.
You are charitably inclined or have heirs in high brackets. A qualified charitable distribution or estate-focused conversion may change the math; see the estate section.

A Fully Worked Example (the Math You Can Copy)

Numbers make this concrete. Meet Susan, a single retiree, age 65, in tax year 2025. She has a $750,000 traditional IRA and only about $20,000 of taxable income after her standard deduction, because she is living on cash savings and has not started Social Security.

The top of the 22% bracket for a single filer in 2025 sits at $103,350 of taxable income, per the 2025 federal brackets. Susan decides to “fill the 22% bracket” by converting $83,350, bringing her taxable income from $20,000 up to $103,350.

Here is her math:

Federal tax on $20,000 (no conversion): about $2,162.
Federal tax on $103,350 (after the conversion): about $17,651.
Extra tax caused by the $83,350 conversion: about $15,490.
Effective tax rate on the converted money: about 18.6%.

She pays that $15,490 from a taxable brokerage account, not from the IRA, so the full $83,350 lands in the Roth. Now compare the alternative: if that same $83,350 had stayed in the IRA and grown, then come out later as RMDs stacked on Social Security and a pension, much of it could have been taxed at 24% or higher — plus it could have nudged her into an IRMAA surcharge. By prepaying at an 18.6% effective rate, Susan likely saves thousands over her lifetime and removes that money from all future RMDs forever.

How to Choose Your “Fill-To” Bracket

Susan filled to the top of 22%, but the right ceiling is personal. The test is to compare your conversion rate today against your expected rate once RMDs, Social Security, and pensions are all flowing.

If you will clearly be in the 24% or 32% bracket later, filling the 22% and even part of the 24% bracket now can pay off. If you will drop to the 12% bracket later, converting at 22% today would be a loss. The action step is to model two or three “fill-to” lines — top of 12%, top of 22%, top of 24% — and pick the highest one that still beats your projected future rate.

The Hidden Costs: IRMAA, Social Security, and the Senior Deduction

A conversion does more than raise your income-tax bill. Because the converted amount counts as income, it can trigger costs that have nothing to do with the income tax itself.

Medicare IRMAA Surcharges

If you are 63 or older, watch IRMAA — the income-related surcharge added to Medicare Part B and Part D. For 2026 the standard Part B premium is $202.90 per month, but it jumps the moment your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) crosses $109,000 (single) or $218,000 (married filing jointly), per the 2026 Medicare cost sheet.

The trap is that IRMAA is a “cliff,” not a slope — one dollar over a tier raises your premium for the whole year. And it uses a two-year lookback, so a conversion done in 2026 affects your 2028 premiums. The action step is to convert before age 63 where possible, or to leave a safety cushion below the next IRMAA line.

Social Security and the “Tax Torpedo”

When you convert, the extra income can make a larger share of your Social Security benefits taxable — up to 85% of benefits can become taxable as your other income rises. This stacking effect is sometimes called the “tax torpedo,” and it can push your marginal rate well above your bracket rate.

This is a strong argument for converting in the gap years before you claim Social Security, when there are no benefits to tax. The action step: coordinate your conversion plan with your Social Security claiming date, ideally converting heavily in the years before benefits begin.

The 2025 Senior Deduction (OBBBA)

A new wrinkle comes from the 2025 tax law often called the OBBBA. It created a temporary extra “senior deduction” for taxpayers age 65 and older, on top of the regular standard deduction.

The key planning points: this deduction is temporary (scheduled to expire after the 2028 tax year), it phases out as MAGI rises into the mid-six figures, and a large conversion can shrink or erase it. Because the exact dollar amount and phase-out figures are set by statute and adjusted over time, confirm the current year’s figure on IRS.gov before relying on it. The action step is to check whether your planned conversion would push you into the phase-out range and quietly raise your true marginal rate.

Three Common Scenarios

Each scenario below shows a typical situation and its likely result.

Scenario 1 — Large IRA, low gap-year income

Your Situation	Likely Result
Age 66, $1M IRA, $25k income, no Social Security yet	Filling the 22% or 24% bracket now usually beats paying higher rates on big RMDs later — strong candidate to convert

Scenario 2 — Income near an IRMAA cliff

Your Situation	Likely Result
Age 64, MAGI already near $105k single	Convert only up to just below the $109,000 IRMAA line, or wait — a few dollars over triggers a full-year premium surcharge

Scenario 3 — Modest balance, lower future bracket

Your Situation	Likely Result
Age 67, $150k IRA, future income stays in 12% bracket	Converting at 22% today likely costs more than doing nothing — small projected RMDs make conversion unattractive

Federal vs. State Treatment

Federal law is only half the picture. Always separate the federal rule from your state rule, because states do not all follow the federal treatment of conversions or retirement income.

At the federal level, a conversion is fully taxable as ordinary income in the year you do it. At the state level, the answer varies widely, and guessing can cost real money.

Where You Live	How a Conversion Is Generally Taxed
No-income-tax states (e.g., FL, TX, NV, WA, TN)	No state tax on the conversion — only the federal bill applies, which can make conversions especially attractive
States that fully tax retirement income (e.g., most income-tax states)	The conversion is taxed as ordinary income at your state rate, on top of federal
States that exempt some retirement income (e.g., PA on qualified plans, IL on retirement income)	Treatment varies; some exempt the conversion, others do not — confirm with your state agency

The consequence of assuming wrong is a surprise state bill at filing. The action step is to check your state’s department of revenue page for how it treats Roth conversions before you convert, and to remember that retirees who move to a no-tax state may want to convert after the move.

Named Examples in Action

Example 1 — Robert fills the bracket and wins. Robert, 64, single, has a $1.2M IRA and $30,000 of income. He converts $73,000 a year for several gap years at a roughly 22% effective rate. By 73, his pretax balance — and his forced RMDs — are far smaller, keeping him out of the 24% bracket and below the first IRMAA tier for life.

Example 2 — Linda hits the IRMAA cliff. Linda, 65, married, converts an extra $5,000 that pushes the couple’s MAGI just over $218,000 in 2026. That single dollar over the line raises both spouses’ Part B premiums for the whole year, an avoidable cost that wiped out part of her conversion savings.

Example 3 — Tom converts when he shouldn’t. Tom, 68, has a $120,000 IRA and will live mostly on Social Security, keeping him in the 12% bracket forever. He converts $40,000 at 22%, paying a higher rate now than he ever would have later — a clear loss.

The Paperwork, Deadlines, and Cost

A Roth conversion is reported on your tax return, and the timing rules are firm. The conversion must happen by December 31 to count for that tax year — there is no “do it by April 15” grace period the way IRA contributions have.

You (or your custodian) report the conversion on Form 8606, “Nondeductible IRAs,” which tracks the taxable and nontaxable parts, and the income flows to your Form 1040. Your custodian also issues a Form 1099-R for the distribution and a Form 5498 showing the Roth contribution. See our guide on how to fill out Form 8606 for line-by-line help.

As for cost and timing: the conversion transaction itself is usually free at the custodian and takes days to process, but the tax is the real cost, due with your return (and possibly through quarterly estimated payments to avoid an underpayment penalty). DIY is realistic for a simple, single-account conversion; a multi-year plan that touches IRMAA, Social Security, and state tax often justifies a CPA or fee-only advisor, typically a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

The Two 5-Year Clocks

Roth accounts carry two separate 5-year rules, and confusing them is common. The first governs tax-free earnings and starts with your first-ever Roth contribution; the second applies to each conversion.

Under the conversion clock, if you withdraw converted principal before five years have passed and you are under 59½, you can owe a 10% penalty on that amount, per Fidelity’s explanation. For most retirees over 59½ this penalty does not apply, but the rule still matters if you might need the converted cash quickly. The action step is to convert money you will not touch for at least five years.

Mistakes to Avoid

Paying the conversion tax from the IRA itself. This shrinks the amount that lands in the Roth and, if you are under 59½, can trigger a 10% penalty — always pay from outside funds.
Converting in one giant lump. A single huge conversion can spike you into the 32% or 35% bracket; spreading it over several years keeps each year’s rate lower.
Ignoring the IRMAA cliff. Crossing $109,000 single or $218,000 joint in 2026 raises your Medicare premiums for a full year — check the line before converting.
Forgetting the two-year IRMAA lookback. A 2026 conversion hits your 2028 premiums, so a “safe” year can still bite later.
Trying to convert before taking your RMD at 73+. The law requires the RMD out first; converting an RMD is not allowed and creates an excess contribution problem.
Converting when your future bracket is lower. Prepaying tax at 22% to avoid a future 12% rate is a guaranteed loss.
Missing the December 31 deadline. Unlike contributions, conversions have no April grace period — a late click means it counts next year.
Overlooking state tax. Converting right before moving to a no-tax state can hand your old state an avoidable bill.

Do’s and Don’ts

Do model your projected RMD at 73 first, so you know how big the future problem really is.
Do fill brackets deliberately, stopping at a chosen ceiling that beats your future rate.
Do pay the tax from taxable savings to keep the full amount working in the Roth.
Do coordinate with Social Security timing to avoid the tax torpedo on benefits.
Do convert in no-income-tax-state years when you can, to skip the state bill.
Don’t convert blindly without comparing today’s rate to your future rate.
Don’t let a conversion shove you over an IRMAA or senior-deduction phase-out edge.
Don’t assume your state mirrors federal law — confirm it.
Don’t wait until 73, when the RMD-first rule eats your cheap bracket space.
Don’t convert money you may need within five years if you are under 59½.

Pros and Cons

Pro — Lower lifetime taxes. Paying now at a low rate can beat paying later at a higher one, because the converted money escapes all future RMDs.
Pro — Tax-free growth. Everything earned inside the Roth after conversion is tax-free, which compounds powerfully over a long retirement.
Pro — No lifetime RMDs on Roth IRAs. Roth IRA owners face no forced withdrawals, giving you control over your taxable income.
Pro — Better legacy. Heirs inherit Roth dollars tax-free, valuable if they are in higher brackets than you.
Pro — IRMAA and torpedo relief later. Shrinking the pretax balance now reduces future income that drives Medicare surcharges and Social Security taxation.
Con — Tax due now. You pull cash forward to pay the IRS today, money that could have stayed invested.
Con — Risk of overpaying. If your future rate turns out lower, you lose; the bet depends on uncertain future law.
Con — Surcharge triggers. A conversion can raise this or a future year’s IRMAA and the taxable share of Social Security.
Con — Irreversible. Since 2018, conversions can no longer be undone (“recharacterized”), so a mistake sticks.
Con — Complexity. Doing it well means juggling brackets, IRMAA, Social Security, state tax, and 5-year clocks at once.

What to Do Next

Pull your most recent pretax balances and project them forward to age 73 to estimate your future RMD using the 26.5 divisor.
Estimate your taxable income for each gap year and find the unused room at the top of the 12%, 22%, and 24% brackets.
Pick a “fill-to” ceiling that stays below the next IRMAA tier ($109,000 single / $218,000 joint for 2026) and any senior-deduction phase-out.
Decide how to pay the tax from outside funds, and set up quarterly estimated payments if needed.
Execute the conversion with your custodian by December 31, then file Form 8606 with your return.
Call a CPA or fee-only advisor if your accounts are large or your income sits near a cliff — a multi-year plan is where professional help pays for itself.

FAQs

Should I do a Roth conversion before RMDs start? Often yes, if your current tax bracket is lower than your expected future bracket and you can pay the tax from outside savings. The gap years before age 73 are usually the cheapest time to convert.

At what age do RMDs begin in 2026? Age 73 for anyone born from 1951 through 1959. The starting age rises to 75 for those born in 1960 or later, beginning in 2033 under SECURE 2.0.

Can I do a Roth conversion after I turn 73? Yes, but you must take your full required minimum distribution for the year first. The RMD itself can never be converted and must be withdrawn and taxed.

Does a Roth conversion count as an RMD? No. A conversion does not satisfy your RMD. Once you are RMD age, the RMD must come out before any conversion is allowed.

How much tax will I pay on a conversion? Your ordinary-income rate on the full converted amount for that year. For tax year 2025, filling a single filer’s 22% bracket to $103,350 produces an effective rate near 18.6% in a low-income year.

Will a conversion raise my Medicare premiums? Yes, it can. Crossing $109,000 (single) or $218,000 (joint) MAGI in 2026 triggers an IRMAA surcharge, and IRMAA uses a two-year lookback, so a 2026 conversion affects 2028 premiums.

Can I undo a Roth conversion if I change my mind? No. Recharacterizing a conversion was eliminated after 2017. Once you convert, it is permanent, so plan the amount carefully.

Do I have to pay the conversion tax all at once? Usually through estimated taxes. The tax is due for the year of the conversion, and you may need quarterly estimated payments to avoid an underpayment penalty.

Is it better to convert a lot in one year or spread it out? Usually spread it out. Smaller annual conversions keep each year’s income in a lower bracket and below IRMAA cliffs, while a lump sum can spike your rate.

Does my state tax a Roth conversion? It depends on your state. No-income-tax states do not tax it; most income-tax states do. Confirm with your state department of revenue before converting.

What is the 5-year rule for conversions? Five years must pass before converted principal can be withdrawn penalty-free if you are under 59½. Most retirees over 59½ are not affected, but the clock still applies to earnings.

What happens if I miss an RMD? A 25% penalty on the amount you failed to withdraw, reduced to 10% if you correct it promptly, under SECURE 2.0 — on top of the regular income tax owed.

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