Thank you @dmertz and @fanfare for the answers. I think I follow but want to make sure I understand it right so I'll use this as an example. I found a very useful article which gave this formula: Taxable amount = [total pre-tax dollars in all your traditional IRAs] / [total dollars in all your traditional IRAs] * [converted amount]
So, I believe that what you are both telling me is that if the balance in the Traditional is 0 at the end of this year, that must mean that the [total dollars in all your traditional IRAs] equals the [converted amount] and therefore the actual $$$ values that go in those fields do not matter, and that is why it also doesn't matter how many conversions I do this year (so long as the contributions don't exceed $6K). In other words, by converting the entire balance in a Traditional in a given year, the amount of taxes owed solely depend on [total pre-tax dollars in all your traditional IRAs] + any gains on that amount. Do I have that right?
