topic Recharacterization of Roth IRA to Traditional IRA then backdoor Roth IRA...1099-Rs indicate I'm getting taxed the full amount? in Retirement tax questions

Recharacterization of Roth IRA to Traditional IRA then backdoor Roth IRA...1099-Rs indicate I'm getting taxed the full amount?

acandero — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 04:05:03 GMT

Timeline:

In 2022, I mistakenly contributed $2236 to my Roth IRA not realizing my MAGI exceeded the annual limit.
In 2023, I recharacterized the full $2236 amount as a Traditional IRA ($2223 actually got transferred), and then converted $2246 back to a Roth IRA. At the time of conversion, I had no pretax TIRA balance.
1. Keeping in mind the Pro Rata rule for the Backdoor conversion, as of 12/31/2023 I had a $0.00 in my Traditional IRA.
My 2022 form 8606 reported that I have a basis in Traditional IRA of $2,236.

This year, I received 2 1099-R's for the 2023 Tax Year:

The first 1099-R reported the recharacterizing of the the Roth IRA to Traditional (with status code R)
The second 1099-R reported the backdoor conversion from Traditional IRA to Roth IRA

Questions:

Both 1099-Rs show taxable amounts (box 2a) of $2,223 and $2,246, respectively. This doesn't seem correct. Shouldn't I just be taxed on the ~$10 earnings of gains that occurred by leaving the recharacterized money in the traditional IRA before converting back to Roth?

RobertB4444 — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 23:43:42 GMT

Here's how to enter a Backdoor Roth IRA conversion into TurboTax. It's a complicated process and it will result in you not paying taxes on the converted amount if you do it correctly.

fanfare — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 01:33:13 GMT

recharacterization: the original amount to the first IRA you report as contribution to the second IRA, earnings move but are ignored.

You should not pay any tax on the recharacterization.

"My 2022 form 8606 reported that I have a basis in Traditional IRA of $2,236"

That's correct but, how did that happen?

Did you amend your 2022 tax return?

acandero — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 17:29:54 GMT

>"My 2022 form 8606 reported that I have a basis in Traditional IRA of $2,236"

>That's correct but, how did that happen?

A: Are you referring to having a basis? If so, I'm not sure. Does this mean I filed my tax 2022 return incorrectly? Or are my 20231099-R's incorrect?

On my 2022 8606 Form:

Line 1 (nondeductible contributions to traditional IRAs for 2022) = $2,236

Line 2 (total basis in traditional IRAs) = $0

Line 14 (total basis in traditional IRAs for 2022 and earlier years) = $2,236

>Did you amend your 2022 tax return?

A: No, I have not.

fanfare — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 18:08:55 GMT

Assuming you import 2022 into 2023,

and the amount from Line 14 carries forward (or you make the entry manually),

you can just toss the 1099-R with Code "R". you don't need it.

Keep for your records.

fanfare — Sat, 17 Feb 2024 15:42:23 GMT

"My 2022 form 8606 reported that I have a basis in Traditional IRA of $2,236"

Is still don't understand how that happened if you did not do it !