Why This Tool Exists
Most Roth conversion mistakes are not about the Roth. They are about the hidden cliffs around it.
This planner is built for execution: enter your projected MAGI and the next IRMAA threshold you care about, then get a simple conversion headroom number and a plan.
IRMAA Headroom Planner
Enter your baseline MAGI and the next IRMAA guardrail, then get conversion room with buffer.
| Scenario | Conversion | Projected MAGI | Guardrail | Result |
|---|
How This Planner Works
You enter a projected baseline MAGI for the year (before conversions).
You enter the next IRMAA threshold you want to avoid (thresholds vary by year and filing status).
The tool calculates headroom and shows a conversion plan that stays inside the guardrail.
What To Enter So The Output Is Actually Useful
Use a baseline MAGI that is realistic, not optimistic. Underestimating MAGI is how people fall into brackets by accident.
If you are doing QCDs, large capital gains, or one-time income events, model those into baseline MAGI first.
Treat the output as a ceiling, not a goal. You still need a tax projection for full optimization.
Execution Notes
Pick a cadence you will follow (monthly or quarterly). A plan that is too complex usually becomes a Q4 scramble.
Save your inputs and a dated projection snapshot in the same folder each year.
If you are close to a threshold, leave buffer room. Small surprises happen.
Documentation Checklist (Keep It Defensible)
- Create a one-page objective memo before you execute (what outcome you are trying to buy).
- Store your assumptions and calculations in a dated PDF (no year-end reconstructions).
- Keep evidence in the same folder structure every month (receipts, logs, approvals).
- Ask your CPA what would make this easy to sign off on, then build that packet.