I am 57 years old and was wondering if I should convert my Roth IRA to a regular IRA to avoid high future taxes or is 300,000 not enough? I’ve seen on other posts whereby some posters recommend that you have a million or more in the regular IRA before you do the conversion. Also, I don’t contribute to my regular IRA anymore. Thank you for any help you can extend.
I agree with ratbert2k – you’re never to convert ROTH IRA to traditional…more like the other way around (depending on your personal situation).
The OP is 57 and is likely in his highest tax bracket already - wouldn’t that be a bad time to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth?
Yes I wanted to clarify that I was thinking of converting my regular IRA to a Roth IRA. Thanks kcflyer. That would make sense if I am already in the highest tax bracket.
Yes what i meant was to convert a regular IRA to a Roth IRA. Sorry for the confusion. Dede to you think I am already in the highest tax bracket already so it wouldn’t make sense to convert?
Thank you for the info ratbert2k. What I meant was to convert a regular IRA to a Roth IRA. I am not working right now but might in the near future. With the new job I probably would have a 401k and I am assuming that you cannot transfer the money from the IRA to the 401k. So if I never get a job and I am sitting on this regular IRA do you think it would be wise to convert to a Roth? Or am I already in the highest tax bracket at age 57 so it wouldn’t have much benefit?
P8nter2: Thank you for clarifying! 
I believe Fidelity, Vanguard and Charles Schwab have calculators on their website where you can figure out if converting would be beneficial for you. If you don’t have accounts with them, here is one from NerdWallet:
It’s helpful to do a Roth conversion if the tax rate you pay on the conversion is lower than the tax rate that would have been paid later when withdrawing from the traditional IRA account. There are potential additional benefits discussed in these articles:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/dam/corp/research/pdf/a_betr_approach_to_roth_conversions_072025.pdf
100% Roth IRAs will be taxed in the future.
The greatest wealth is created by paying taxes when the rates are lowest. The peak years for a Roth conversion are the “gap” years when employment income is reduced, not yet eligible for S.S. and have not reached the age to receive Required Minimum Distributions. The OP is 57 and currently not working so now should be a good time to consider a Roth conversion.
The two references from my previous post cover additional benefits to a Roth conversion.
I’d probably suggest waiting until later in the year to see whether he gets a job, because that would certainly change the calculation.
If $300k is all he has in retirement, it’s unlikely he’ll ever pay any taxes on it by leaving it alone until he takes regular withdrawals in retirement.
Crystal ball? It is less important if it actually happens 20 yrs from now for a 57 yo.