If you earn too much to contribute to a Roth IRA directly, there's a workaround that's been around for years.
It's called the backdoor Roth IRA, and it's not a secret account or a loophole that requires a special broker.
It's just two ordinary steps done in the right order, and it's completely legal.
You contribute to a traditional IRA, but you don't take the tax deduction, so the money is sitting there as after-tax dollars.
Then you convert that traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.
You pay tax only on any growth that happened between the two steps, which is usually close to nothing if you move fast.
If you already have money in a traditional IRA, SEP IRA, or SIMPLE IRA, the IRS doesn't let you convert just the new after-tax dollars.
It looks at all your traditional IRA balances together and taxes the conversion proportionally.
That can turn a clean move into a taxable mess.
So the cleanest setup is having zero pre-tax IRA money before you start.
Many people who switched jobs roll their old 401(k) into their current employer's plan instead of an IRA, specifically to keep the backdoor path open.
If you can't do that, run the numbers with a tax pro before converting anything.
For 2025, the income phase-out for direct Roth contributions starts at $150,000 for single filers and $236,000 for married couples filing jointly, and it phases out completely at $165,000 and $246,000.
Above those limits, the backdoor is the main way in.
The contribution limit is $7,000, or $8,000 if you're 50 or older.
Congress banned new backdoor conversions starting in 2033 under the SECURE 2.0 Act, but that provision only applies to Roth conversions for taxpayers earning over $400,000, and it doesn't touch the contribution step.
For most households, nothing changes for years.
A few practical tips from people who do this every year.
Make the contribution and wait a few days for it to settle before converting, so you don't trigger a failed conversion.
Report both steps on Form 8606 when you file, or the IRS may assume the whole thing was taxable.
And if you have a small pre-tax balance you can't move, consider converting the entire IRA at once and paying the tax in a low-income year.
Some brokers make this harder than it should be.
Not every platform handles the two-step process smoothly, and a few charge conversion fees or make it confusing online.
If yours does, it may be worth switching before you start, because a clean process matters more than saving a few dollars on commissions.
The closing opinion here is simple: the backdoor Roth is a legitimate, well-documented move that rewards people who plan ahead and punishes people who wing it.
If your income is over the limit and you have no pre-tax IRA money, it's one of the few remaining tax breaks that works exactly as advertised.
Final Thoughts
Do the paperwork right, or hand it to someone who will.