Taxes and Roth Conversions

Should I Do a Roth Conversion at 70? 2026 Guide

Should you do a Roth conversion at 70? When it makes sense, when it does not, and how 2026 brackets, IRMAA, the senior deduction and RMDs change the math.

A Roth conversion at 70 can still make sense, and for many retirees the years right before required minimum distributions (RMDs) begin are the best time to do one. Whether it fits you comes down to a few questions: is your tax rate today lower than it will be later, can you pay the tax from money outside the IRA, and who will inherit the account? At 70 you also have to watch Medicare premiums, the new senior deduction and the option of giving to charity straight from your IRA.

This guide walks through the 2026 numbers, a worked example and the cases where converting is the wrong move.

What is a Roth conversion?

A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional IRA or similar pre-tax account into a Roth IRA. The amount you convert is added to your taxable income for that year. In return, the money in the Roth grows tax-free, qualified withdrawals are tax-free, and you never have to take RMDs from a Roth IRA during your lifetime [1].

At 70 there is no 10% early withdrawal penalty to worry about. Earnings in the Roth are tax-free once you are past 59 1/2 and five tax years have passed since your first Roth contribution or conversion [2]. The converted amount itself has already been taxed, so it does not get taxed again.

Since 2018, a conversion cannot be undone. You can no longer recharacterize it back to a traditional IRA if markets drop or your tax bill turns out higher than expected [3]. Run the numbers before you convert, not after.

Taxes and Roth IRA

Why is 70 a common time to decide?

Three things line up around 70.

First, Social Security is usually turned on by 70, because there is no benefit to waiting longer. That makes your income for the next few years easier to predict.

Second, RMDs have not started yet. If you were born from 1951 through 1959, your first RMD is for the year you turn 73. If you were born in 1960 or later, it is 75 [1][4]. Someone who turns 70 in 2026 was born in 1956, so RMDs begin in 2029. The years from 70 to 72 are a window where you control how much IRA income you report.

Third, once RMDs start, you must take the RMD for the year before you can convert anything, because RMD amounts cannot be rolled over or converted [1]. Converting gets harder after 73.

When does a Roth conversion at 70 make sense?

A conversion tends to pay off when:

Your traditional IRA is large enough that RMDs will push you into a higher bracket. RMDs start at your balance divided by an IRS life expectancy factor. At 73 the factor is 26.5, so a $2,000,000 IRA produces a first RMD of about $75,472, and the percentage rises every year after that [2].
One spouse is likely to outlive the other by several years. The survivor files as single, and the single brackets are about half the size of the joint brackets. The same income can be taxed at a higher rate after the first death.
You plan to leave the account to children. Most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty an inherited IRA within 10 years [1]. If your children inherit a traditional IRA in their peak earning years, they pay tax on it at their rates. Inherited Roth money still has to come out within that window, but qualified withdrawals are tax-free.
You can pay the tax from savings or a taxable account. Paying the tax with cash outside the IRA lets the full converted amount keep growing tax-free.

Living in Texas helps here. There is no state income tax, so the cost of converting is federal tax only. If your heirs live in a state with an income tax, inherited Roth money avoids that state's tax as well. We cover the rest of the inheritance picture in Does Texas Have an Estate Tax? 2026 Rules Explained.

When should you not convert?

A conversion at 70 is usually a poor fit when:

You would have to pay the tax out of the IRA. That shrinks the amount that ends up in the Roth and weakens the benefit.
You expect to be in a lower bracket later. If your income will fall, or you expect large medical or long-term care expenses that are deductible, paying tax now at a higher rate makes little sense.
You plan to leave the IRA to charity. Charities do not pay income tax, so converting money that will go to charity means paying tax nobody needed to pay. Starting at 70 1/2, you can make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) directly from your IRA. For 2026, up to $111,000 per person can go to charity this way without being counted as income, and QCDs count toward your RMD once RMDs start [5].
The conversion would push you over a Medicare premium threshold for little benefit. See the next section.

How do Medicare premiums and the senior deduction change the math?

IRMAA

Medicare charges higher Part B and Part D premiums to people with higher income, a surcharge known as IRMAA. It is based on your modified adjusted gross income from two years earlier [6]. In 2026, the standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month. It starts rising once 2024 income was above $109,000 for single filers or $218,000 for joint filers, with Part B premiums ranging from $284.10 to $689.90 a month per person [6].

A conversion done in 2026 affects your 2028 premiums. The 2028 thresholds have not been published yet, so planners usually treat the current thresholds as a guide and leave some room.

The senior deduction

For 2025 through 2028, people 65 and older can deduct an extra $6,000 each, or $12,000 for a married couple who both qualify. This is on top of the standard deduction. It phases out by 6% of modified adjusted gross income over $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for joint filers [7][8]. A large conversion can shrink or eliminate it, which raises the true tax rate on the converted dollars.

Social Security taxation

If your income other than Social Security is modest, a conversion can also make more of your Social Security benefit taxable, up to the 85% maximum [9]. In that range, each converted dollar can pull extra Social Security into taxable income.

A worked example

Here is a hypothetical example with round numbers. Your own figures will differ.

David and Karen live in Cedar Park and are both 70 in 2026. They have $2.4 million saved, including $1.8 million in traditional IRAs. Their Social Security is $72,000 a year combined, and they have $30,000 of interest and dividends. They take the standard deduction, which for 2026 is $32,200 plus $1,650 for each spouse 65 or older [7].

	No conversion	$100,000 conversion
Taxable Social Security	$24,700	$61,200
Adjusted gross income	$54,700	$191,200
Senior deduction	$12,000	$9,528
Taxable income	$7,200	$146,172
Federal income tax	$720	$21,582

The $100,000 conversion adds about $20,862 in federal tax, or about 20.9% of the amount converted. Part of that comes from more of their Social Security becoming taxable and part from losing some of the senior deduction. Their top bracket is 22%, which in 2026 covers joint taxable income from $100,800 to $211,400 [7]. Their income stays below the current $218,000 IRMAA threshold.

Now look at the alternative. If they convert nothing and the IRAs simply hold their value, at 73 their first RMD on $1.8 million would be about $67,925, and it would rise each year. Add Social Security and investment income, and they would likely face the 22% bracket anyway, with less control over the timing. If one of them dies, the survivor files as single, and the 22% bracket for single filers starts at just $50,400 of taxable income in 2026 [7].

Converting $100,000 a year for three years at about 21% could shrink their future RMDs, lower the survivor's tax bill and leave their children tax-free money. Whether that beats waiting depends on their spending, their health and whether they plan to give to charity.

What should you do now?

Project your income from now through your first RMD year, including Social Security and any pension.
Find the top of your current bracket and the IRMAA threshold, and see how much room you have under each.
Decide how you would pay the tax, ideally from money outside the IRA.
If you give to charity, plan QCDs for the IRA dollars you intend to give away.
Run the numbers with your CPA before December 31, since conversions count in the year they are done and cannot be reversed.

Frequently asked questions

Is it too late to do a Roth conversion at 70?

No. There is no age limit on Roth conversions. For many people, 70 to 72 is one of the best windows because RMDs have not started yet.

Can I convert my RMD to a Roth?

No. Once RMDs begin, you must take the year's RMD first. Only amounts above it can be converted.

Does a Roth conversion affect Medicare premiums?

It can. Conversions raise your modified adjusted gross income, and Medicare uses your income from two years earlier to set IRMAA surcharges.

Should I convert all at once or over several years?

Spreading a conversion over several years usually keeps more of it in lower brackets and below IRMAA thresholds. A single large conversion can push income into the 24% bracket or higher.

Do my heirs pay tax on an inherited Roth IRA?

Qualified withdrawals from an inherited Roth IRA are generally tax-free. Most non-spouse heirs still have to empty the account within 10 years.

Talk it through with us

Whether a Roth conversion at 70 is right for you depends on your brackets, Medicare premiums, charitable goals and who will inherit your accounts. Our Tax Tool Calculator can give you a first look. To see a year-by-year conversion plan, book a Financial Clarity Session with our team. We coordinate with your CPA. Vital Wealth & Retirement has helped Central Texas families plan for retirement since 2005.