Roth Conversions

Converting $100K to Roth Today Costs $35K+ in Taxes

January 26, 2026· 2 min read
Converting $100K to Roth Today Costs $35K+ in Taxes

Why high earners expecting lower retirement income may want to skip Roth conversions

The Details

If your retirement income will be under $50,000 annually, you may pay just 12% federal tax on traditional IRA withdrawals — making today's 32-37% conversion rates mathematically unfavorable unless you expect decades of tax-free growth.

What this means for you

Retirement decisions compound — getting one of these details wrong can cost tens of thousands of dollars over a retirement. The good news: most of these mistakes are completely avoidable if you understand how the rule actually works.

Next step

If you want to see how this applies to your specific situation, take the free Retire Ready Score — a 2-minute assessment that scores your current plan across income, taxes, healthcare, and protection.
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The Compound Effect

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