I completed a backdoor Roth IRA for $5500 before April 15, 2019 in a trust company. I completed the necessary paperwork and it was not a taxable event. However, i changed jobs in January 2019 and I rolled over a traditional 401K. I told the trust company that I wanted to do a backdoor Roth for it as well and I thought that all was well. I filed for an extension on my taxes and submitted them before the October 15th deadline. I ended up receiving a refund. I didn't expect a refund - I expected a hefty tax bill to pay the taxes on my 401K. Upon inquiry, it turns out that the trust company rolled the 401K in March 2019 directly over to a Roth IRA without first depositing it into a traditional IRA account. They insinuated that it was my fault for not having completed a second form for the 401K amount to first be deposited into a traditional IRA. I asked them if it was even possible to directly rollover a traditional 401K to a Roth IRA without going through a traditional IRA account first? They didn't seem to respond to this question. Is this direct rollover possible? Have I lost the Roth deferred tax status forever? Can I complete a revised return and correct this? The trust company says they will send me a 1099 R form for the 401K rollover after January 1st, 2020 but I must complete a Roth conversion form first. I have since transferred all funds to a different trust company that I preferred and it is held in a Roth IRA account there.
