Retirement Tax Services Podcast Roth conversion rules of thumb are stupid with Debbie Taylor
Mar 9, 2026
Debbie Taylor, Chief Tax Strategist at Carson Wealth and noted tax-planning speaker, breaks down Roth conversion thinking. They challenge common rules of thumb, explain when high-bracket conversions and low-bracket moves make sense, and stress detailed modeling over one-size-fits-all advice. Practical planning, inheritance impacts, and when to pay conversion taxes are all discussed in upbeat, no-nonsense conversation.
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Convert Roths Even In High Tax Brackets
- Do consider Roth conversions even when a client is in a high tax bracket.
- Use Roths for estate planning, hedging against rising taxes, and converting during market downturns to capture rebounds.
Rules Of Thumb Became Obsolete With Better Tools
- Rules of thumb made sense when advisors lacked modeling tools but are outdated today.
- Modern software and templates let advisors measure case-specific outcomes instead of relying on blanket heuristics.
Model IRMA Impact Instead Of Using It As A Rule
- Do model lifetime tax consequences when clients fear IRMA increases from conversions.
- Trade paying one or two years of higher IRMA now against decades of uncontrolled higher IRMA later, especially for widows.