What is a backdoor Roth IRA?

A backdoor Roth IRA is a contribution to a traditional IRA that you convert to a Roth IRA. This strategy allows you to fund a Roth IRA, even if you exceed the income limits for a direct contribution.

Who cannot do a backdoor Roth IRA?

Individuals without any earned income can't do a backdoor Roth IRA. If you don't have taxable income, then you can't make IRA contributions, which rules out the backdoor Roth strategy.

Is a backdoor Roth still allowed?

Yes, a backdoor Roth is still legal. There haven't been any changes to the law that prohibit the use of the backdoor Roth strategy.

Can I contribute to a Roth IRA if I make over $200,000?

You can contribute to a Roth IRA with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $200,000 if you're married and filing jointly. If you're a single taxpayer, then $200,000 is over the MAGI limit for a Roth contribution. However, you could fund a Roth IRA in this situation with the backdoor Roth method.

Previous ticker arrow

If you earn too much to contribute to a Roth IRA, the backdoor Roth IRA method could be the solution.

By Lyle Daly – Updated Feb 11, 2026 at 5:16 PM EST | Fact-checked by Parker Hicks

Key Points

Backdoor Roth IRA allows high earners to bypass income limits for Roth contributions via traditional IRA conversion.
Contributing to a traditional IRA and converting to a Roth IRA incurs taxes only if deductions were claimed.
No taxes on conversion if nondeductible IRA contributions are made; pro-rata rule applies if multiple IRAs exist.

A backdoor Roth IRA is a strategy that allows you to contribute to a Roth IRA even when you exceed the income limits. Roth IRAs are an excellent way to set yourself up for years of tax-free income in retirement, but high earners can't contribute directly. That's where the backdoor Roth strategy comes in.

Loading paragraph...

An infographic defining and explaining what a backdoor Roth IRA is and how it works. — Image source: The Motley Fool

Loading image...

How a backdoor Roth IRA works

Although there are income limits on Roth IRA contributions, there aren't any limits on Roth conversions. You can earn as much as you want and still convert a traditional IRA to a Roth.

Loading paragraph...

Data source: IRS.
Tax filing status	Maximum MAGI for full Roth contribution	Maximum MAGI for partial Roth contribution
Single, head of household, or married filing separately IF you didn't live with your spouse during the year	$150,000 (2025); $153,000 (2026)	$165,000 (2025); $168,000 (2026)
Married filing jointly or qualifying widow or widower	$236,000 (2025); $242,000 (2026)	$246,000 (2025); $252,000 (2026)
Married filing separately IF you lived with your spouse at any point during the year	$0	$10,000

Loading table...

Backdoor Roth IRA contribution limit

The IRA contribution limit is $7,000 in 2025 or $8,000 if you're 50 or older. The 2026 limit is $7,500 if you're under 50 and $8,600 if you're 50 or older. If you want to open an IRA and use the backdoor IRA method to convert the account to a Roth IRA, that's the maximum you can contribute per year.

It's worth noting that you can make IRA contributions until the tax deadline, so if you make your contribution after New Year's Day, you can effectively make two years' worth of contributions at once.

Loading paragraph...

Backdoor Roth IRA taxes

When you convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, you'll owe taxes on any amount that was previously tax-deductible.

Let's say you contribute $5,000 to a traditional IRA and claim it as a deduction on your tax return. A year later, you convert the account to a Roth IRA. The entire value of the account (even if it now exceeds $5,000) would be considered taxable income for the year you made the conversion.

You can avoid taxes if you make a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution and immediately convert it to a Roth IRA. Since you've already paid income taxes on the contribution, the conversion isn't taxable income.

However, if you have multiple traditional IRA accounts, the situation becomes more complicated. In this case, the pro-rata rule applies. Here's how it works:

You can't choose to convert only nondeductible contributions to a Roth IRA.
The IRS treats all traditional IRAs as one combined account.
The portion of the conversion subject to income taxes is based on the ratio of deductible to nondeductible assets in all your IRAs.

If you have extensive retirement assets in deductible traditional IRAs, a backdoor Roth may not be the right move due to the taxes involved.

Loading paragraph...

How to do a backdoor Roth IRA conversion

Here are the steps for the backdoor Roth IRA method:

Contribute money to a traditional IRA account, making sure your brokerage offers Roth conversions (most do).
Convert the account to a Roth IRA. This typically just involves a short form, which your brokerage can provide and process.
Pay any applicable taxes. You have until the tax deadline for the year in which the conversion was made to pay any applicable taxes on the converted account.

If you have a lot of traditional IRA funds you want to convert, but you don't want to pay the taxes all at once, most brokerages will allow you to make the conversion over a period of several years.

Loading paragraph...

Should I do a backdoor Roth IRA?

The backdoor Roth strategy can be valuable when you want the benefits of a Roth IRA, but you make too much to contribute directly. You won't need to worry about taxes on your withdrawals in retirement, and Roth IRAs also don't have required minimum distributions (RMDs) anymore.

Another benefit is that you can withdraw contributions to your Roth IRA tax-free and penalty-free whenever you want. The early withdrawal penalty only applies to earnings on your investments, not contributions. Note that each Roth conversion has a five-year holding period before you can make penalty-free withdrawals.

Although Roth IRAs have valuable perks, so do traditional IRAs. If you're in a relatively high tax bracket right now and you qualify for the traditional IRA tax deduction, a traditional IRA might make more sense to reduce your taxable income right now.

Just because everyone can use the backdoor method of contributing to a Roth IRA doesn't mean that everyone should. Before you start the process, make sure it's truly the best move for your retirement strategy.

Loading paragraph...

FAQ

Loading faq...

About the Author

Lyle Daly is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering information technology and cryptocurrency. Lyle has been a contributor at the financial services company since 2018. His work has been featured on USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, Fox Business, and Nasdaq. Before joining The Motley Fool, he wrote for financial brands including Intuit.

TMFLyleDaly

@LyleDaly

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.