What are the correct steps to amend my return to properly account for backdooring a traditional to roth IRA? Box 4(b) is still showing the full amount after revisiting.

[matt_terry]

As the questions says we made a mistake on our 2023 returns regarding our Traditional to Roth IRA backdoor, so I went to file an amended return and revisited the 1099-R steps - I completed them the same as our 2024 1099-R section, but the Amended Return for 2023 is still showing the full IRA distribution amount from 4a in 4b, which to my understanding is supposed to be blank unless there were earnings before backdooring? So I'm not sure what steps I'm missing to actually correct this on the 2023 amended return? Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[fanfare]

To avoid tax on this conversion, you need to file or had already filed a Form 8606 showing a non-deductible contribution.

See Form 8606 Lines 1,2.

OR

If you took a deduction for the traditional IRA contribution, that offsets the tax, so it all balances out and there is no reason to amend.

@matt_terry 

[matt_terry]

Ok thank you for the reply. I don’t believe we took a deduction from the traditional contribution - how can I confirm that is the case?

[fanfare]

Your deduction is on Schedule 1 Line 20.

Amend with a properly filled out Form 8606 and some or all of your tax on that conversion will be refunded.

NOTE: Generally, if you already had a balance in IRAs before attempting this, you cannot do it tax-free.