dmertz
Level 15

Retirement tax questions

Presumably these are distributions from one or more traditional IRAs.  You are only permitted to roll over some or all of one of these distributions back to a traditional IRA and the choice of which one to roll over back into a traditional IRA is yours to make.

 

However, Roth conversions are not subject to the one-per-365-days rollover limitation.  You have the option within 60 days of the distribution to deposit some or all of the either or both of these distributions into a Roth IRA explicitly as a Roth conversion (not as a regular Roth IRA contribution).  If you do so, you'll still owe taxes on the conversion but will not own any early-distribution penalty.

 

Also, rollovers from a traditional IRA to a qualified retirement plan like a 401(k) are not subject to the limitation.  If you have a 401(k) or similar plan at your employer and the plan will accept before the expiration of the 60-day deadline an indirect rollover of money from the traditional IRA, that's another possibility to avoid both tax and early-distribution penalty.