What's a Roth IRA conversion and how do I perform one?

A Roth IRA conversion is one where a customer takes pre-tax funds from a Traditional IRA and moves them into a Roth IRA rather than a Traditional IRA.

The amount of funds moved into the Roth IRA are added to the customer's tax return as taxable income in the year of the conversion. Assuming relevant legal requirements are met, Roth conversions are generally not subject to 10% early withdrawal penalty, only income tax. Normally, after conversion, at least 5 years must pass from the conversion date before the funds can be withdrawn without penalty.

If you're considering performing a Roth IRA conversion, consult your accountant, financial advisor, or other tax professional about the tax implications for your situation.

What you’ll need:

• An Unchained Roth IRA
  • USD conversions: Creating a vault is not required. You can upload keys and build a vault at your convenience. 
  • In-kind conversions: You must create a vault to perform the conversion. 

How to perform a Roth Conversion if the funds are with another custodian:

1. Contact your current custodian to perform a Roth conversion. 
2. Complete the steps for a Roth IRA-to-IRA transfer. 
3. Once the funds arrive in your account, you can use them to purchase bitcoin. 

How to perform a Roth Conversion if the funds are in your Unchained Traditional IRA:

1. Sign in to your Unchained account and navigate to your Roth IRA dashboard.
2. Select IRA cash balance and click FUND. 
3. Select the IRA-to-IRA Transfer option. 
4. Select whether you intend to fund your Roth IRA conversion with your IRA cash balance (USD) or in-kind (BTC).
5. Select Roth as your Unchained IRA Account Type and whether it will be a full or partial conversion. 
6. Enter Fortis Bank as the Releasing Custodian Name.
7. Select Traditional for the tax status of the funds being sent. 
8. Submit Form.
9. Our IRA team will receive your responses and send you a funding form via DocuSign, typically within 1 business day. 
   1. Depending on your personal email settings, you may need to check your spam folders for the DocuSign form. 
10. Return the DocuSign.
    1. USD conversions: Sign and return the DocuSign. 
    2. In-kind conversions: Clients must complete one section of the DocuSign, and return it unsigned.
11. Fortis Bank will perform the IRA conversion.
    1. USD conversions: The funds will arrive in your Roth IRA account, and you may use them to purchase bitcoin. 
    2. In-kind conversions: Once approved, the IRA Operations team will email you a confirmation to proceed with moving your requested amount of bitcoin from your Traditional IRA vault to your Roth IRA vault. Sign and submit the DocuSign to certify the amount moved from your Traditional to Roth IRA.
12. Done!
    
    

Note: No contents of this article may be relied upon as tax, legal, or financial advice, as they have not been tailored to you and have not been reviewed by any attorney, financial advisor, or tax professional. For any questions related to your own specific situation, please consult with your own attorney, tax professional, and/or licensed financial advisor.