Home / FA MAGAZINE: VNFA’s Siebert Interviewed on Roth conversions

FA MAGAZINE: VNFA’s Siebert Interviewed on Roth conversions

August 20, 2020 | Press

Laurie Siebert was interviewed for an article in Financial Advisor Magazine on the topic of Roth conversions.

Not So Fast
But don’t get carried away. There are also good reasons not to convert, said Laurie Siebert, a senior vice president and CPA at Valley National Financial Advisors in Bethlehem, Pa. Namely, you forget the benefits you’re going to lose.

Roth conversions, after all, are considered ordinary income. That means you could pump up the tax rate you might be paying on capital gains and qualified dividends and miss out on a zero cap gains tax. You might also get ensnared in Social Security taxes if you pump up income.

There are other reasons to keep your adjusted gross income low. “A lower AGI may reduce Social Security and [income-related monthly adjustment amounts] on Medicare in the applicable year,” Siebert said.

And finally, a lower adjusted gross income for 2020 means you might qualify for a stimulus payment that you otherwise couldn’t have gotten because your income was too high, Siebert said.

“Bottom line, don’t disregard other tax benefits that could be available outside the conversion,” she added.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE at FAmag.com
Roth Conversions A-Go-Go In 2020 (August 6, 2020)