Mechanics of a Roth Conversion

[omni550]

Did you have your Roth previously set up, or did you set up your Roth and do the conversion in one swoop? I’m interested in doing a Roth conversion today if I can set up the Roth and convert easily online today.

Ronstar,

I previously had a Roth set up at Vanguard.

omni

 

[mountainsoft]

Here is the screen I see. I don't even get the option to select a withholding.

Yep, that's the same screen I saw back in November when I started my Roth account by converting some of my traditional IRA.

 

[Ronstar]

Ronstar,

I previously had a Roth set up at Vanguard.

omni

Thanks - I thought that setting up a Roth and then putting $ in it would be a lot more difficult than just adding to an existing account. But it wasn’t- the whole process was easy.

 

[googily]

When I did my first conversion at Vanguard earlier in 2018, I chose Convert to Roth, which opened a new Roth account and gave me the option to withhold taxes, which I did (and wish I hadn't). Subsequent conversions have had the screen that Alan showed above. So I think it has to do with creating a new account.

 

[gauss]

It would be helpful for everyone describing their Vanguard experience to indicate if the accounts involved (ie tIRA and Roth IRA) are legacy MF accounts or the new brokerage accounts.

Without this context it is hard to make conclusions about your experience.

-gauss