Guide
How much should I convert to a Roth each year?
By Secure Retirement PlannerUpdated
If you are retired, a good yearly amount is usually just enough to fill your current tax bracket. For 2026, that is up to the $100,800 top of the 12% bracket if you are married, or $50,400 if you file single.
Before you settle on your number, check two more lines. The first is the Medicare IRMAA surcharge level two years out, since a big conversion can raise your premiums. The second, if you are 65 or older, is the income where your new senior deduction starts to shrink.
This is called bracket filling. You use up the low-tax room you have this year, and you stop before your next jump in cost. The steps below show you how to find your number. The example shows the math for one 2026 couple.
How we're paid: this guide is free and educational, not tax advice. If you ask for an estimate, a licensed professional may contact you and may earn a commission if you choose to buy an insurance product. Details
The short version
- Find your 2026 taxable income before you convert. The gap to the top of your bracket is your room.
- Pick the bracket you expect to pay later. Converting below that rate tends to help you.
- If you get Social Security, a conversion can make more of it taxable. So your room may be smaller than it looks.
- Check your Medicare IRMAA line two years ahead. It's a cliff: $1 over costs you the full surcharge.
- Repeat each year until your RMDs start, and adjust as your income changes.
Step by step
Estimate your 2026 taxable income without a conversion
Add up your pensions, IRA withdrawals, interest, dividends, wages and the taxable part of your Social Security. Subtract your standard deduction ($32,200 joint or $16,100 single). Also subtract your extra amounts at 65 and your senior deduction.
Choose your target bracket
Pick the rate you think you, or your surviving spouse, will pay later. Many retirees fill the 12% bracket. If your IRA is large, you may fill the 22% or 24% bracket.
Subtract to find your room
Take the top of your target bracket and subtract your taxable income. That is roughly how much you can convert at that rate.
Adjust for Social Security and deductions
If part of your Social Security is not yet taxable, each dollar you convert can make up to 85 cents more of it taxable. Above certain incomes, your senior deduction also shrinks. Both make your real room smaller. Roth conversion tax calculator accounts for these.
Check the Medicare line
If you're 63 or older, compare your income after the conversion with the IRMAA levels at 2026 IRMAA brackets and checker. Staying a little under a line can save you a full year of higher premiums.
Convert by December 31 and repeat next year
You can convert most of your amount in the fall, then top it up in December once your income is clear. See 2026 conversion deadline for custodian cutoffs.
How much can I convert and stay in my tax bracket?
Subtract your taxable income from the top of your bracket. The table shows your room at some common 2026 incomes.
Treat these as your starting points. If you get Social Security and not all of it is taxable yet, your true room is smaller.
| Filing status | Taxable income before converting | Room to top of 12% | Room to top of 22% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Married filing jointly | $40,000 | $60,800 | $171,400 |
| Married filing jointly | $60,000 | $40,800 | $151,400 |
| Married filing jointly | $80,000 | $20,800 | $131,400 |
| Married filing jointly | $100,000 | $800 | $111,400 |
| Single | $20,000 | $30,400 | $85,700 |
| Single | $30,000 | $20,400 | $75,700 |
| Single | $40,000 | $10,400 | $65,700 |
What income limits should I watch besides my tax bracket?
Your bracket isn't the only place where your costs jump. These lines can make your conversion cost more than its bracket rate. The Medicare line is the one that surprises people most.
| Line | 2026 level (joint / single) | What crossing it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Social Security fully phased in | Other income plus half of benefits over $44,000 / $34,000 | Each $1 can make 85 cents of benefits taxable, until 85% of benefits are taxable |
| 0% capital gains rate | Taxable income over $98,900 / $49,450 | Long-term gains above the line are taxed at 15% |
| Senior deduction phase-out (65+) | MAGI over $150,000 / $75,000 | 6 cents of deduction lost per $1, for each person who qualifies |
| First Medicare IRMAA level | MAGI over $218,000 / $109,000 (2026 premiums) | $81.20 Part B plus $14.50 Part D a month per person, in 2026 terms |
| Top of 22% bracket | Taxable income over $211,400 / $105,700 | Next dollars taxed at 24% |
Is it better to convert all at once or spread it out?
For most retirees, spreading it out costs less. One large conversion stacks on top of your other income and climbs into higher brackets. Smaller yearly amounts stay in your lower ones.
Say you are a couple with $60,000 of taxable income. You could convert $40,800 a year at 12%. Converting $300,000 in one year would push most of it into the 22% and 24% brackets. It would also likely push you over a Medicare IRMAA line.
There is one case for converting more in a single year. That's a year when your income is unusually low, such as your first year after retiring.
How many years should I keep converting?
You can convert in the years between retiring and the start of your required minimum distributions (RMDs). Your RMDs start at 73 if you were born 1951 to 1959, and at 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. Once they start, your RMD itself fills part of your low brackets.
Our guide to Lowering tax on your RMDs explains how to use that window. You may keep converting smaller amounts after your RMDs begin. That can help if your spouse or your heirs would otherwise pay more tax.
The senior deduction ends after 2028
Under current law, the extra $6,000 deduction per person 65 or older runs from 2025 to 2028. From 2029, if you and your spouse both qualify, you could have up to $12,000 less room in your bracket.
Should I convert past the 12% bracket into 22% or 24%?
It depends on the rate you expect to pay later. Large RMDs could push you to 22% or 24% anyway. So could your spouse filing single after you die, or heirs in high brackets. If so, converting at 22% now may cost you little or nothing extra.
The step from 22% to 24% is small, only 2 points. The step from 24% to 32% is large. That's why, if your IRA is big, you might fill the 22% or 24% bracket and stop there.
If you expect to be in the 12% bracket for life, converting at 22% likely costs you money.
Example: how much a 66-year-old couple could convert in 2026
Pat and Lee are both 66 and file jointly. They have a $60,000 pension and $48,000 of Social Security. Before converting, $40,000 of their benefits is taxable and their income (MAGI) is $100,000. Their taxable income is $52,500. That's after the $32,200 standard deduction, $3,300 extra for being 65 or older, and $12,000 of senior deduction. Their federal tax is $5,804.
The 12% bracket ends at $100,800, which looks like $48,300 of room. But the first part of a conversion also makes $800 more of their Social Security taxable. So their real room is $47,500.
Past $49,200 of conversion, their income tops $150,000 and their senior deductions start to shrink. In that range each extra $1,000 converted costs about $246, not $220. At $117,200 of conversion, their MAGI reaches $218,000. That is the first IRMAA line for 2026 premiums.
Both were born in 1960, so their RMDs start at 75, in 2035. That gives them nine tax years, 2026 through 2034, to convert at low rates. Their 12% room shrinks from 2029 if the senior deduction ends as scheduled.
If your situation looks like Pat and Lee's, your cheapest stopping point is likely the top of your 12% bracket, trimmed for Social Security. Going further can still make sense for you, but check the Medicare line first.
| Stop at | Conversion | MAGI after | Added federal tax | Average rate on conversion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top of 12% bracket | $47,500 | $148,300 | $5,796 | 12.2% |
| Before senior deduction shrinks | $49,200 | $150,000 | $6,170 | 12.5% |
| First IRMAA line (2026 level) | $117,200 | $218,000 | about $22,925 | 19.6% |
| Near top of 22% bracket | $146,400 | $247,200 | about $30,120 | 20.6%, plus IRMAA |
Hypothetical example using 2026 federal brackets and deductions (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32), the IRS Publication 915 method for Social Security, and the Schedule 1-A senior deduction. It assumes no other income, no state tax, and uses 2026 IRMAA levels as a stand-in for 2028 levels, which weren't published as of Nov 9, 2026. At 2026 rates, crossing the first IRMAA line would add about $2,297 a year in premiums for the two of them. Your numbers will differ.
Common questions
What is a good amount to convert to a Roth each year?
There's no single number. A common approach is to convert up to the top of your current bracket, then trim it to stay under the next Medicare IRMAA line.
How much can I convert and stay in the 12% bracket?
For 2026, the 12% bracket ends at $100,800 of taxable income for couples and $50,400 for single filers. Subtract your taxable income before converting to find your room.
Should I convert the same amount every year?
Not necessarily. Your income changes as your pension, Social Security and RMDs start. So it helps to recalculate your room each fall.
Does a Roth conversion count toward IRMAA?
Yes. It adds to your modified adjusted gross income, and Medicare uses that figure from two years earlier to set Part B and Part D premiums.
Can I convert in pieces during the year?
Yes. You can do as many conversions as you like in a year. They all add up as income for that year, and all must be done by December 31.
Should I keep converting after RMDs start?
Sometimes. Your RMD must come out first, and it uses up your low bracket room. Converting a bit more can still help if your spouse or heirs would pay a higher rate later.
Sources
Facts on this page were last checked on November 9, 2026.
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments) · 2026 brackets, standard deduction, extra deduction at 65, 0% capital gains thresholds. Read Nov 9, 2026.
- IRS Publication 915 (2025), Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits · Base amounts and method for figuring taxable benefits. Read Nov 9, 2026.
- IRS Schedule 1-A (Form 1040), Additional Deductions, Part V · Senior deduction of $6,000 per qualifying person, reduced by 6% of MAGI over $75,000 ($150,000 joint). Read Nov 9, 2026.
- CMS: 2026 Medicare Parts A & B premiums and deductibles · 2026 IRMAA levels and surcharges ($81.20 Part B, $14.50 Part D at the first level). Read Nov 9, 2026.
- 26 U.S.C. 401(a)(9)(C)(v), applicable age for RMDs · RMDs start at 73, or 75 for people who reach 74 after 2032 (born 1960 or later). Read Nov 9, 2026.
Who wrote this
This guide was written and fact-checked by the Secure Retirement Planner editorial team using IRS, CMS and Social Security sources listed above. We update guides when the law or yearly limits change. How we research.