How far up the ladder
should you convert?
Every tax bracket is a rung. Converting more Traditional IRA dollars to Roth pushes your income up the ladder — this shows exactly which rung you'll land on, and what the climb costs.
Your situation
Conversion amount
The bracket ladder
The "effective rate on the converted dollars" tells you the marginal cost of this specific conversion. But your effective rate on total income is what you're actually paying, blended across every bracket you touch — and it's the figure worth comparing against the tax rate you expect to pay later, once RMDs and Social Security push your income up in retirement. If today's blended rate is lower than tomorrow's, converting now can make sense even if part of it lands in a higher bracket.
A conversion decision doesn't happen in isolation from Social Security timing, IRMAA, and your estate plan. Talk it through with our team.