How much can you convert to Roth without jumping a bracket?
A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth, and you pay ordinary income tax on the amount now so it grows tax-free forever. The trick is converting just enough to fill your current bracket, and no more. Enter your expected income to see the room you have.
Your expected 2026 income
Where your income sits in the brackets
Medicare premium thresholds (IRMAA)
Medicare looks at your income from two years earlier, so a 2026 conversion sets your 2028 Part B and D premiums. The thresholds below are the 2026 table; 2028 thresholds will be a little higher.
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How bracket-filling works
Federal tax is layered: each slice of income is taxed at its own rate. A conversion is just more ordinary income, so it fills whatever is left of your current bracket first, then spills into the next one. Converting up to the top of a low bracket in a low-income year, say after retiring but before Social Security and required distributions begin, lets you pay 12% or 22% today on money that might otherwise be taxed at 24% or more later.
Estimate this year’s income
Wages, pensions, IRA withdrawals, interest and the taxable part of Social Security. Late in the year the estimate is most accurate.
Pick the bracket to fill
Convert to the top of your current bracket, or deliberately into the next one if future rates look higher. Mind the Medicare and capital-gains thresholds.
Pay the tax from outside the IRA
Paying with cash rather than withholding from the conversion keeps the full amount growing tax-free. Conversions are final, so set the tax aside.
Want a multi-year conversion plan?
The right amount changes every year with income, Social Security timing and required distributions. We build the year-by-year schedule and coordinate it with your CPA.