So I have an old SEP-IRA and a Roth IRA at a particular custodian. I want to convert the SEP to a Roth but I am hesitant to mix the 2 accounts together. There is something about a 5-year rule for Roths that I don't understand very well, but I am within 5 years of age 59.5 so it could come into play. Although I don't anticipate needing to access the money until longer than that, who really knows?? So if one account was opened 2 years ago, for example, and the other one 15 years ago, and then you convert one and mix them together, what is the new 5-year set date? I hope that question makes sense.
Option 2 would be to convert the SEP to a separate Roth, but the disadvantage to doing that is that the custodian charges a $200 fee for the closing of each account in the future. Not a huge fee, but if one of those fees can be avoided by merging them into a single account then why not? Plus a second Roth is just another account to keep track of. I have enough accounts to keep track of already and consolidating 2 into 1 would be nice.
Also, I have a basis in the SEP of a little less than half of its current value due to many years of backdoor Roth conversions. I don't think that really matters for any other reason than calculating the taxable amount of the proposed conversion, but I might be wrong?
Thanks for advice!
Option 2 would be to convert the SEP to a separate Roth, but the disadvantage to doing that is that the custodian charges a $200 fee for the closing of each account in the future. Not a huge fee, but if one of those fees can be avoided by merging them into a single account then why not? Plus a second Roth is just another account to keep track of. I have enough accounts to keep track of already and consolidating 2 into 1 would be nice.

Also, I have a basis in the SEP of a little less than half of its current value due to many years of backdoor Roth conversions. I don't think that really matters for any other reason than calculating the taxable amount of the proposed conversion, but I might be wrong?
Thanks for advice!
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