If your income is above the Roth IRA contribution limit, the IRS still lets you in through the back door. A completely legal conversion strategy that takes 30 minutes once a year. Here is the mechanism.
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Above the Roth income limit (roughly $165K single, $246K married for 2026 [VERIFY irs.gov]) you cannot contribute directly to a Roth IRA. Instead: contribute $7,000 [VERIFY] of after-tax money to a Traditional IRA (non-deductible), then immediately convert it to a Roth IRA. The conversion is essentially tax-free because you already paid tax on the contribution. There is no income limit on the conversion. Watch out for the pro-rata rule if you have other Traditional IRA balances.
The strategy exploits a quirk of the tax code: there is an income limit on direct Roth contributions, but no income limit on Traditional IRA contributions or on Traditional-to-Roth conversions. The combination is a fully legal backdoor.
Put $7,000 [VERIFY] of after-tax money into a Traditional IRA. Because your income is too high to deduct the contribution, this is a "non-deductible Traditional IRA contribution." File Form 8606 with your tax return to establish basis on the contribution.
Within days (or sometimes the same business day) of the contribution settling, request a Roth conversion at your brokerage. Because you already paid tax on the contribution, the conversion is essentially tax-free. Any minimal earnings in the brief settlement window are taxable, which is why most people convert immediately.
Invest the converted balance in a total-market index fund (VTI, FSKAX, FZROX). It now grows and can be withdrawn tax-free in retirement. Repeat the entire process every year. File Form 8606 each year to track basis.
Direct Roth IRA contributions phase out and disappear at the following modified adjusted gross income levels. Above the upper bound, no direct contribution is allowed. The Backdoor Roth has no income limit at all.
The IRS treats all of your Traditional IRA balances as a single pool when you convert. If you have $93,000 in a deductible Traditional IRA from an old 401(k) rollover and you contribute $7,000 of new non-deductible money, the conversion is treated as 7 percent basis and 93 percent taxable. You cannot cherry-pick the after-tax slice.
There are two clean fixes. Roll the deductible Traditional IRA into your current employer's 401(k) (if the plan accepts incoming rollovers) before doing the Backdoor. The 401(k) balance is excluded from the pro-rata calculation. Or convert the entire deductible balance to Roth in a single year, paying the tax bill, then run the Backdoor cleanly thereafter.
The pro-rata rule is calculated on December 31 balances, not at the moment of conversion. Clear the deductible Traditional IRA before year-end of the year you do the Backdoor, not just before the conversion itself.
A separate, much larger strategy that runs through the 401(k), not the IRA. If your employer 401(k) plan allows after-tax (non-Roth) contributions and either in-service withdrawals or in-plan Roth conversions, you can push tens of thousands more dollars per year into Roth space.
The annual 415(c) total contribution limit (employee + employer + after-tax) is $70,000 for 2026 [VERIFY irs.gov]. After your $23,500 employee deferral and your employer match, the leftover room can be filled with after-tax contributions, which then immediately convert to Roth. Many tech companies, large law firms, and major banks support this; ask HR if your plan documents allow "after-tax contributions" and "in-service Roth rollover."
For high earners with access, the Mega Backdoor is one of the most powerful tax-advantaged tools in the U.S. system. See Roth IRA and 401(k) for sequencing.
Open both a Traditional IRA and a Roth IRA at the same brokerage if you do not already have them. Funded by external bank transfer, the contribution typically settles in 1 to 5 business days. Once settled, request a "Roth conversion" from the Traditional IRA to the Roth IRA for the full balance.
At tax time, file IRS Form 8606 to report the non-deductible contribution and the conversion. Most tax software handles this if you correctly mark the Traditional contribution as non-deductible. The 1099-R from the brokerage will show the conversion; combined with Form 8606, the IRS sees a contribution of $7,000 of basis, a conversion of roughly $7,000, and zero (or near-zero) taxable income from the conversion.
For a long-horizon Traditional balance and the broader conversion ladder strategy, see Roth Conversion Ladder.
Last updated 2026-04-14. Not financial advice. Do your own research.