IRA: Recharacterized Value Greater than Contribution

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Hello!

I am having a bit of a problem reconciling this problem within TurboTax.  In 2022, I received an unexpected bonus and realized I would exceed the MAGI for contributing to a Roth IRA.

I originally contributed $1,500.  By the time I made the recharacterization to a Trad IRA later on, it had grown to $1,507.  I have made the $7 withdrawal per TurboTax instructions, but I am unable to E-File due to the error on the "IRA Contributions Worksheet" as Line 22 "Recharacterizations" is greater than Line 19 "Contributions".  Can I remedy this within TurboTax software or must I file by mail?

Thank You!

[DanaB27 · Accepted solution]

If you recharacterized it you don't need to withdraw anything. Please follow these steps to enter the recharacterization in TurboTax:

1. Login to your TurboTax Account 
2. Click on "Search" on the top right and type “IRA contributions” 
3. Click on “Jump to IRA contributions"
4. Select “Roth IRA”
5. Answer “No” to “Is This a Repayment of a Retirement Distribution
6. Enter the Roth contribution amount of $1,500
7. Answer “Yes” to the recharacterized question on the “Did You Change Your Mind?” screen and enter the contribution amount of $1,500 (no earnings or losses)
8. TurboTax will ask for an explanation statement where it should be stated that the original $1,500 plus $7.00 earnings were recharacterized.
9. On the screen "Choose Not to Deduct IRA Contributions" answer "Yes" (if you are thinking about doing a backdoor Roth. If you have a retirement plan at work and are over the income limit it will be nondeductible automatically and you only get a warning and then a screen saying $0 is deductible)

You will get Form 1099-R  for the recharacterization with code R-Recharacterized IRA contribution made for 2022 and this belongs on the 2022 return. But a Form 1099-R with code R will do nothing to your return. You can only report it as mentioned above. Therefore, you can ignore the Form 1099-R with code R when you get it in 2024. The box 1 on the 1099-R will report the total recharacterized amount (contribution plus earnings) but it does not separately report the earnings and box 2a must be zero.