I understand that any taxpayer who has an IRA can "convert" that IRA into a Roth IRA, as long as the taxpayer does not have adjusted gross income in excess of $100,000. If the taxpayer is married filing a joint return, the taxpayer and his or her spouse's income are taken into account in applying this $100,000 limit.

My personal situation has changed since I got married in June 1998. If you calculated an AGI for the combination of my wife and I, we would exceed the $100,000 limit. I would like to convert my 401(K) plan, which I just converted to an IRA last month, to a Roth IRA. I understand that I can file my taxes as single status for the 1998 tax year. What would be my status for a Roth conversion in 1998? Will the fact that I have to change my tax status in 1999 have any effect? Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

If you got married in '98 and you are married as of 12/31/98, you cannot file as a single individual, you must file either married joint or married separate.

If your JOINT income exceeds $100K, you cannot convert to a Roth. If you already did, you must do a recharacterization.