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Roth IRA Conversion Sweet SpotRoth IRA Conversion Sweet Spot

A tax-saving opportunity for married taxpayers with taxable income under $320,000.

Christopher R. Hoyt, Professor of Law

May 16, 2019

22 Min Read
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Many taxpayers are benefiting from the lower income tax rates generated by The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017. But, those tax rates are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025, and a newly elected Congress might end them even sooner. Is there a way for taxpayers to lock in today’s low income tax rates for income that they’ll receive in future years? Yes. It’s called a Roth individual retirement account conversion.  

With a Roth IRA conversion, an individual withdraws assets from a traditional pre-tax IRA or qualified retirement plan (QRP) account and deposits the amounts into a Roth IRA, where the assets and all future investment income are exempt from federal and state income taxation. The conversion triggers an income tax liability,1 but t...

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About the Author

Christopher R. Hoyt

Professor of Law, University of Missouri

Christopher R. Hoyt, JD is a Professor of Law at the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law where he teaches courses in the area of federal income taxation and business organizations.  Previously, he was with the law firm of Spencer, Fane, Britt & Browne in Kansas City, Missouri.  He received an undergraduate degree in economics from Northwestern University and he received dual law and accounting degrees from the University of Wisconsin.

Professor Hoyt has served as the Chair of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Charitable Organizations (Section of Trusts and Estates) and is on the editorial board of Trusts and Estates magazine. He is an ACTEC fellow, has been designated by his peers as a “Best Lawyer”, and was elected to the Estate Planning Hall of Fame by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.  He is a frequent speaker at legal and educational programs and has been quoted in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, MONEY Magazine, The New York Times and The Washington Post