topic Are my retirement contributions nondeductible for Roth conversion? in Retirement tax questions

Are my retirement contributions nondeductible for Roth conversion?

julia-vu-ucsf — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 06:56:03 GMT

I want to do a roth conversion of my traditional IRA, but first, I need to make sure it consists of 100% nondeductible contributions to not trigger the pro rata rule. So, I'm backtracking through my old tax forms. From 2016-2020, I had a TSP from the military. I'm not sure whether my contributions were deductible or not, but from looking at the tax returns, I don't think they are. I don't see an 8606 form, but I do see a 8880 form for a savings credit. I also see on line 12 that it was blank- indicating that I was not able to take the credit. Shall I assume that none of the funds were deductible, then? In 2020, I set up a Traditional IRA and rolled my TSP funds (about $6000) into it. So far, everything has been nondeductible (?). The money sat in there and grew a bit, but I didn't actually contribute to the traditional IRA until 2022. Based on the tax return transcript from 2022, the line for "IRA deductions" is blank, so I don't think I took a deduction for that. So far, it sounds like I'm able to do a conversion without triggering pro rata. Can anyone confirm? I'm not really sure how to 100% tell whether my TSP contributions were deductible or not, but nothing in my tax forms indicate they were.

Re: Are my retirement contributions nondeductible for Roth conversion?

MaryK4 — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 15:17:27 GMT

Some of your contributions are nondeductible for the Roth conversion. The TSP were payroll deductions, so they were deducted from your pay before taxes. They act like a 401k, so they would not have been deductible. If you did not deduct the 2022 contribution, you want to make sure you filed the Form 8606- otherwise the contributions are not considered nondeductible even if you did not deduct them. For this conversion, the prorata rule would apply, because the TSP is taxable income.

Re: Are my retirement contributions nondeductible for Roth conversion?

julia-vu-ucsf — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 15:55:52 GMT

I can’t find my 2022 tax return and my CPA won’t return my calls, so I have no idea if he filed the 8606 for me that year. Should I be safe than sorry, and file one just in case? Would the IRS be able to tell me if they have one on record from that year?

Re: Are my retirement contributions nondeductible for Roth conversion?

RobertB4444 — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 16:25:44 GMT

You can view your tax return history in your IRS account. Just go to this link and create an account for yourself and you'll be able to see if the 8606 was filed in 2022.

@julia-vu-ucsf

Re: Are my retirement contributions nondeductible for Roth conversion?

fanfare — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 16:28:24 GMT

Your IRS record of account will tell you if you took an IRA deduction or not.

It won't tell you if you filed 8606 because a contribution was not deductible,

To see your online account, IRS now requires you to register.

next time, ask your tax preparer for a paper copy for your own records.

See my comment on your other thread for how to file.

@julia-vu-ucsf

Re: Are my retirement contributions nondeductible for Roth conversion?

julia-vu-ucsf — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 15:54:58 GMT

@MaryK4 Turns out I need to submit an 8606 for 2022 and amend the 8606 basis for 2023. Can I submit a tax return for 2024 with the most up to date basis so I can expedite my Roth conversion or do I have to wait for the 2022 and 2023 basis to complete processing? IRS takes several months to process. Either way I’ll submit them ASAP, but I just want to know if I have to wait for them to be updated in consecutive order before I can submit my 2024 basis and do a Roth conversion.

Re: Are my retirement contributions nondeductible for Roth conversion?

fanfare — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 16:29:51 GMT

enter the correct prior years basis on 2024 Form 8606 consistent with the amendments you filed or will file.

@julia-vu-ucsf