Deductions & credits

The backdoor Roth IRA will only work if you convert your traditional IRA to Roth IRA. It does not work when you recharacterize your traditional IRA as a Roth contribution. 

Recharacterization your contribution means the traditional IRA contribution will be switched to a Roth contribution. It will be like you have not contributed to the traditional IRA but that you have contributed to the Roth IRA. Please see Traditional and Roth IRA: Recharacterize vs Convert for additional information.

This is important did you tell your bank to recharacterize the contributions or to convert money from the traditional IRA to Roth IRA?

If you did a conversion then you need to change the answer to: Tell Us How Much You Transferred: Amount Switched from a Traditional IRA Contribution to a Roth IRA Contribution: 0 

Please review the backdoor instructions below.

To enter the nondeductible contribution to the traditional IRA (pay attention to step 8!):

1. Open your return
2. Click “Deductions &Credits” on the top
3. Click "I'll choose what to work on"
4. Scroll down to “Traditional and Roth IRA Contributions” and click “Start”
5. Select “traditional IRA”
6. Answer “No” to “Is This a Repayment of a Retirement Distribution?”
7. Enter the amount you contributed
8. Answer “No” to the recharacterized question on the “Did You Change Your Mind?” screen
9. Answer the next questions until you get to “Any Nondeductible Contributions to Your IRA?” and select “Yes”
10. If you had a basis in the Traditional IRA before then enter the amount.
11. On the “Choose Not to Deduct IRA Contributions” screen choose “Yes, make part of my IRA contribution nondeductible” and enter the amount.

To enter the 1099-R distribution/conversion: 

1. Click "Personal Income" on the top
2. Click "I'll choose what to work on"
3. Scroll down and click "Start" next to "IRA, 401(k), Pension Plan (1099-R)" 
4. Answer "Yes" to the question "Did You Have Any of These Types of Income?"
5. Click "I'll Type it Myself"
6. Choose "Form 1099-R, Withdrawal of Money from 401(k) Retirement Plans, Pensions, IRAs, etc."
7. Click "Continue" and enter the information from your 1099-R
8. Answer questions until you get to “What Did You Do With The Money” and choose “I moved it to another retirement account”
9. Then choose “I did a combination of rolling over, converting, or cashing out money.” and enter the amount next to "Amount converted to a Roth IRA account"
10. On the "Your 1099-R Entries" screen click "continue"
11. Answer "yes" to "Any nondeductible Contribution to your IRA?"
12. Answer the questions about the basis