taxes

Standard Deductions
Married Filing Joint: $11,400

Personal Exemptions
Per taxpayer and dependent: $3,650
Additional Amount if age 65 or older: $1,100 (for married filing joint)

Filing Requirement Thresholds
You are required to file a tax return if your income exceeds the combined total of your standard deduction and personal exemption. Here's the 2009 filing requirement thresholds:

Married Filing Joint: $18,700 ($19,800 if one spouse age 65 and over; $20,900 if both spouses age 65 and over)

In 2010, there is no income limitation on Roth conversion. I know some of you are thinking isn't tax free better than tax deferred? In general, yes; however, just because taxes were deferred does not mean it has to be paid.

Furthermore, when doing a Roth conversion, you need to think about how much taxes you saved at first by contribution to tax deferred account and how much taxes you will being paying in the conversion.

Here's my experience. I started saving your 401k very early on. During this time, my contributions were only saving me 10-15% on taxes because that was the tax bracket I was in and my income was not high.

When the Roth conversion was first made available in 2000, I did the conversion. A little research showed that if you have at least 15 years until retirement then it is a win. Little did I realize that I would be paying 2x the amount in taxes from what I had saved.

Keep in mind for MFJ (under 65) the first 18,700 is not taxable. If this were drawn from tax deferred account, then you never paid in taxes on it.

Conclusion, don't jump to conclusion and keep a balance of tax deferred and tax free investment. Careful planning is required.