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Full Version: Can Roth IRA contributions be recharacterized to traditional IRA to ge

BenefitsLink Message Boards > Retirement Plans > IRAs and Roth IRAs

ntaylor

Feb 22 2001, 09:40 PM

I have a $2000 roth IRA purchased for the year 2000. It was in an index fund and now is worth $1100. I am over 60 years old. It appears that this investment(?) will never again be worth $2000. Can I somehow cancel the Roth IRA or recharacterize it so I get some tax benefit from the loss?
i.e., can I change it to a regular IRA and thereby take the tax deduction allowed for the traditional IRA? Or is recharacterization only permitted for traditional IRA's that were converted to Roth?

Appleby

Feb 23 2001, 06:04 AM

ntaylor,
You may recharacterize the Roth IRA to a traditional IRA. You may then take a deduction for the contribution if your income threshold permits.
This IRS link provides information on deductibility .

http://www.irs.gov/forms_pubs/pubs/p5900108.htm

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