I contributed to a Roth IRA in 2016, but recharacterized it as a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution in 2017. How do I enter this in TurboTax?

[jasoncrowder]

I contributed to a Roth IRA in 2016, but then recharacterized it as a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution in 2017. When entering the traditional IRA contribution info into TurboTax, what do I put down for 'How much of the above total contribution was between January 1, 2017 and April 18, 2017?'

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

You will enter zero.  When you recharacterize a contribution, the original treatment of the contribution is treated as if it never happened.  Even though you recharacterized in 2017, your original contribution (which is now a nondeductible Traditional IRA) was made in 2016.  You are considered to have made your Traditional IRA contribution in 2016 and not 2017.  Here is an FAQ with more information:  https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3302139

[CCR]

So how do we report the Roth IRA distribution that is reported in 1099 R with Code R for the 2017 tax year? Do we need to attach an explanation/ statement in 8606 ?