Roll 401k into Roth IRA during Fellowship/1st Year as Attending?

[beastmode]

Hi everyone,

Finishing up fellowship in the next 6 months. Any advice on what to do with my 401k? Been told I should roll it into an IRA then convert it to Roth IRA since this is last year to take advantage of a lower tax bracket.

Thanks!

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

Sounds like a good idea, as long as you've got the money to cover the taxes on the Roth conversion. It will be much cheaper to do in the 2016 tax year than it will be later on, but it certainly won't be tax-free. I'm assuming this is a 4-figure or 5-figure 401(k).

[KidneyBoy]

That is what I did this year when I went from residency to fellowship. I would space out the conversion over a few years though so you don't get hit so hard with taxes in one year.

[jfoxcpacfp]

beastmode wrote:

Hi everyone,

Finishing up fellowship in the next 6 months. Any advice on what to do with my 401k? Been told I should roll it into an IRA then convert it to Roth IRA since this is last year to take advantage of a lower tax bracket.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

That's what you should do except you should be able to roll directly into the Roth w/o the middle step. Be sure to set aside $$ to pay the taxes the following April.