Converting an IRA to a Roth After Age 60: A Step-by-Step Guide

By Kevin Luu, Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer. Reviewed on 2026-09-30.

Yes, you can convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA after age 60, and there is no age limit and no income limit on conversions. The amount you convert is taxed as ordinary income in the year you convert, and after 59½ there is no 10% early withdrawal penalty to worry about. Whether it makes sense comes down to one comparison: the tax rate you pay on the conversion now versus the rate you, or your children, would pay on the same dollars later.

For a family earning $750,000 or more in California or Washington, this question usually shows up twice. First for your own parents, who are in their 60s and sitting on a large IRA that you will likely inherit. Later for yourselves, in the years after the paychecks stop and before required distributions begin. This guide covers both, with 2026 numbers.

The rules that apply to a Roth conversion after 60

• No age or income limit. Anyone with a traditional IRA can convert all or part of it. The Roth contribution income limits ($242,000 to $252,000 of MAGI for married couples in 2026) apply to new contributions, not conversions (IRS Pub 590-A).
• Taxed as ordinary income. The converted amount is added to your income for the year, except any part that is a return of nondeductible contributions (your basis). Basis is recovered pro rata across all your traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs combined, reported on Form 8606. The custodian reports the conversion on Form 1099-R.
• No undo. Conversions made in 2018 or later cannot be recharacterized back to a traditional IRA (Pub 590-A). Convert only what you are sure about, and consider waiting until late in the year when your income is clearer.
• RMDs cannot be converted. Once required minimum distributions start, the RMD for that year must come out first and cannot be moved into a Roth (Pub 590-A). Under current law RMDs start at 73 for people who reach 72 after 2022 and 73 before 2033, and at 75 for anyone born in 1960 or later (IRC §401(a)(9)(C)(v)). That makes the years between retirement and RMD age the main conversion window.
• No lifetime RMDs on a Roth IRA. The owner never has to withdraw. Beneficiaries do have distribution rules after the owner’s death, covered below.

How the five-year rules work once you are past 59½

There are two separate five-year clocks, and after 59½ only one of them matters.

The first applies to each conversion and only triggers the 10% additional tax for people under 59½ (Pub 590-B). At 60 or older, it does not apply to you.

The second decides whether earnings come out tax-free. A distribution is qualified when you are 59½ or older and at least five tax years have passed since the first year any Roth IRA was set up for you. If your parent has never had a Roth IRA, a conversion made in 2026 starts that clock on January 1, 2026, so earnings become tax-free from January 1, 2031. The converted dollars themselves were already taxed and can be withdrawn without tax at any time under the ordering rules. Only earnings withdrawn before the five years are up would be taxable.

Why your parents’ IRA is really your tax problem

This is the part most conversion guides skip. Under the 10-year rule, an adult child who inherits an IRA must empty it by December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the owner’s death (Pub 590-B). Most adult children are not eligible for the old lifetime stretch.

So a traditional IRA left to you will most likely be withdrawn during your own peak earning years, stacked on top of W-2 wages and RSU vests. A retired parent with modest income may be in the 22% or 24% federal bracket. You are probably in the 37% bracket, plus California tax.

An inherited Roth IRA is also subject to the 10-year rule, but qualified withdrawals are tax-free. You can typically leave it invested for the full 10 years and take it out at the end without adding a dollar to your taxable income.

Worked example: converting at 64 versus inheriting at 40

Assumptions for 2026, for illustration only: your parents are married, 64 and 62, retired in California, with a $1.6 million traditional IRA and no basis. Their taxable income before any conversion is $60,000 from a pension and Social Security, and we assume their Social Security is already taxed at the maximum 85%, so each converted dollar adds one dollar of taxable income. Both are under 65 at the end of 2026, so the age-65 additional deductions do not apply. Born in the early 1960s, their own RMDs will start at 75. California figures use the 2025 rate schedule because the Franchise Tax Board has not published 2026 schedules.

How the federal figures work, using the 2026 joint brackets: tax on $60,000 of taxable income is $6,704. Tax on $211,400 is $35,932, and tax on $403,550 is $82,048. The difference is the cost of the conversion. California’s 9.3% bracket runs from $145,448 to $742,958 for joint filers (2025), and part of each conversion falls in lower brackets, so the real California tax is somewhat less than shown.

Now the other path. Suppose your parents never convert, the IRA grows to $2.4 million (assumption), and you inherit it while your household earns $900,000. You spread it evenly, about $240,000 a year for 10 years. Your federal taxable income is already about $818,800 ($900,000 of wages, minus two $24,500 401(k) deferrals, minus the $32,200 standard deduction), which is above the $768,700 start of the 37% bracket for 2026.

• Federal: 37% of $240,000 = $88,800 a year. IRA distributions are not subject to the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax, though they do raise your MAGI (IRS NIIT Q&A).
• California (2025 rates, assuming $850,000 of state taxable income before the IRA): $41,542 at 10.3% ($4,279), plus $108,458 at 11.3% ($12,256), plus $90,000 at 11.3% plus the 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax on taxable income over $1,000,000, 12.3% in total ($11,070) = about $27,605.
• Total: about $116,405 a year, or roughly 48.5 cents of every inherited dollar.

That is the whole case in one line: the same dollars can be taxed at roughly 29 to 31 cents in your parents’ hands or about 48 cents in yours. The gap narrows if your income drops, if you inherit in a year you are not working, or if your parents need the IRA to live on. It widens if the account grows faster than assumed.

If you live in Washington, you would pay the $88,800 of federal tax and no state income tax on the inherited IRA in 2026 and 2027. Washington has enacted a 9.9% income tax on AGI over $1,000,000 starting January 1, 2028 (WA DOR), and $900,000 of wages plus $240,000 of IRA income would cross that line. Details of how it will apply are still pending from the Department of Revenue.

What a conversion costs besides income tax

Medicare premiums two years later

Medicare Part B and Part D premiums are set using your modified AGI from two years earlier. For 2026, a married couple whose 2024 MAGI was over $218,000 pays $284.10 a month each for Part B, rising in steps to $689.90 a month each at $750,000 or more (SSA POMS HI 01101.020). Filling the 22% bracket in the example puts AGI around $243,600, over that first line. The thresholds are adjusted each year, so check the table for the year that will apply. A higher premium for one year is often a small price next to the tax saved, but it belongs in the math.

Paying the tax from the right account

Pay the conversion tax from a taxable account if you can, not by withholding from the IRA. Tax withheld from the conversion never reaches the Roth, so less money grows tax-free. Because a conversion adds income, you may also need estimated payments. For anyone whose prior-year AGI was over $150,000, the safe harbor to avoid an underpayment penalty is 110% of last year’s tax (IRS Pub 505).

Other income that moves with it

A bigger AGI can make more of your Social Security benefit taxable and can push capital gains from the 0% or 15% rate into a higher one. In Washington, the state capital gains tax does not apply to retirement accounts (WA DOR), so the conversion itself is not hit by it.

How to move an IRA to a Roth IRA, step by step

1. Pull last year’s return and this year’s income estimate. Find taxable income before any conversion and the bracket ceiling you want to stay under.
2. Check for basis. Look for Form 8606 filings from years of nondeductible contributions. Basis lowers the taxable part, applied pro rata across all IRAs.
3. Take any RMD first if you have reached RMD age (73, or 75 if born in 1960 or later). Only amounts above the RMD can be converted.
4. Open a Roth IRA at the same custodian and request a trustee-to-trustee conversion. You can convert shares in kind rather than selling.
5. Set aside the tax from a taxable account and make an estimated payment for the quarter.
6. Update beneficiary designations on the new Roth IRA. If the conversion opens a new Roth IRA, it needs its own beneficiary form.
7. Repeat each year until RMDs start, adjusting the amount to the bracket you chose.

When converting after 60 usually does not make sense

• Your parents will need the IRA for living costs soon and have no other money to pay the tax.
• They plan to leave the IRA to charity. Charities pay no income tax on it, so converting first only adds tax.
• They expect to move from California to a state with no income tax before drawing on the money. Residency rules are strict, so that plan needs review before relying on it.
• Large medical or long-term care costs are likely. Those can be deductible and can offset IRA withdrawals in later years.

Your own conversion window, 20 years from now

While your household earns $900,000 in California, a large conversion would be taxed at 37% federal plus 10.3% to 13.3% state (2025 California rates, including the 1% tax on taxable income over $1,000,000), which rarely beats what you would pay in retirement. The working-years Roth tools are the backdoor Roth ($7,500 per person for 2026) and, if your plan allows it, the mega backdoor Roth inside your 401(k).

The window opens when the W-2 income stops. If you retire at 58 with RSUs already sold, you may have 17 years of low-bracket income before RMDs start at 75 (the RMD age for anyone born in 1960 or later). Those are the years to fill the 22% or 24% bracket with conversions, before Social Security and RMDs raise your floor. Our note on how RMDs are calculated shows why the balance at RMD age matters. Planning this sequence is part of our retirement and employee benefits and tax management work.

What to write down for the next generation

If your parents convert, the benefit lands on you and eventually on your children. Ask them to write one page: which accounts are Roth and which are traditional, who the beneficiaries are, why they converted when they did, and which account they would want spent first. Then write the same page for your own accounts. Kevin Luu puts the question simply: “Your kids will inherit your money. Will they inherit your judgment?” A short memo like this is how a FamilyKnowledge® Library starts, and it pairs with the documents covered in our estate planning work.

Common questions

Is there an age limit to convert an IRA to a Roth?

No. There is no maximum age and no income limit for a Roth conversion. The only age-related restriction is that once required minimum distributions begin (73, or 75 if born in 1960 or later), that year’s RMD must be taken first and cannot be converted. Amounts above the RMD can still be converted at any age.

Are RMDs required for Roth IRAs?

Not for the original owner. The RMD rules do not apply to Roth IRAs while the owner is alive. After death, most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty an inherited Roth IRA within 10 years, but qualified withdrawals are tax-free, so they can usually wait until the tenth year.

Can I undo a Roth conversion if the market drops?

No. Conversions made in 2018 or later cannot be recharacterized. If the account falls after you convert, you paid tax on the higher value. Many families convert in several smaller pieces during the year, or in December once income is clearer, to limit that risk.

Next step

Ask your parents for their last tax return and IRA statement, and run the two tables above with their numbers and yours. If you would like a second set of eyes on the comparison, the Tax & Wealth Assessment takes a few minutes. This is general education, and the right move depends on your family’s full picture.

Written by

Kevin Luu

Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer, Bright Advisers

Kevin has advised high-income W-2 tech and biotech families since 2015, and leads the education-first Age Five Family Office from Brea, California.

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