@jefals wrote:
Got it. Thanks Opus.
Ok, then, so as long as I don't take anything out till 1/1/2026, I'm "home-free". (Even tho it's a "5 year rule, it's more like a 4 year rule for me, since I did the conversion 12/31/21)!
I converted dividend paying stocks -- not cash, which is what I plan to do with my future conversions. And, since I do now want to wait till 1/1/2026 to avoid the penalty, it would seem to make sense for me to try and convert my least productive stocks -- the ones that pay the lowest dividends -- for the time being, so that I'll still have access to more cash while I'm waiting for that 5 year clock....
Again, even before 1/1/26, you only pay tax on earnings, if you withdraw earnings. Using the ordering rules, your conversion basis is withdrawn first, so would not pay income tax on withdrawals before 1/1/26 unless you tapped out your conversion basis and dipped into the value that your stocks have earned since the conversion.
