Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
I usually fund my tIRA from an external bank transfer on a Monday, and then by Wednesday, Vanguard lets me do a Roth conversion.
This time, when I go to convert, the Vanguard website keeps saying "The amount you entered exceeds this fund's balance"
Did something change? It seems like the funds are showing up as unavailable. I'm not sure why it's doing this as I did the exact same sequence for my spouse's account last month and everything went fine (Fund tIRA Monday, convert Wednesday)
This time, when I go to convert, the Vanguard website keeps saying "The amount you entered exceeds this fund's balance"
Did something change? It seems like the funds are showing up as unavailable. I'm not sure why it's doing this as I did the exact same sequence for my spouse's account last month and everything went fine (Fund tIRA Monday, convert Wednesday)
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
I think you want to enter 100% for the Roth conversion. Sounds like the market movements have made your balance decrease a bit within the traditional IRA.
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
It took 7 days for the fund to become available each time I did this. (2019 & 2020).
Edit: Ours is brokerage. We did it in April 2019 & Jan 2020. External Bank transfer to tIRA to Roth. It clearly stated it would take 7 days and showed that the fund was not available.
Edit: Ours is brokerage. We did it in April 2019 & Jan 2020. External Bank transfer to tIRA to Roth. It clearly stated it would take 7 days and showed that the fund was not available.
Last edited by chestnut on Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:04 am, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
We (mrs. lakpr and mr. lakpr) did the backdoor Roth in the first week of January this year, and we could convert from Traditional IRA to Roth IRA two days later. Mrs. lakpr is on Brokerage platform, and Mr. lakpr is on Mutual Fund platform .... so it's not platform specific either.
If something changed with respect to how soon you can convert, it must have been within the last month, certainly not earlier.
If something changed with respect to how soon you can convert, it must have been within the last month, certainly not earlier.
-
- Posts: 11419
- Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2018 2:06 pm
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
I have not noticed a change. For my 2019 and 2020 backdoor Roths, I pulled funds for my contributions from my linked bank account into my Vanguard tIRA (brokerage account). It took 4-5 business days for the funds to be available at which point I then did the Roth conversions.
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
Did you fund the initial traditional IRA from a bank account, or from another Vanguard account. I had the same issue the OP described, several years ago, and since then I’ve just made the transfer into the traditional IRA internally at Vanguard.lakpr wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 8:55 am We (mrs. lakpr and mr. lakpr) did the backdoor Roth in the first week of January this year, and we could convert from Traditional IRA to Roth IRA two days later. Mrs. lakpr is on Brokerage platform, and Mr. lakpr is on Mutual Fund platform .... so it's not platform specific either.
If something changed with respect to how soon you can convert, it must have been within the last month, certainly not earlier.
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
From a linked bank account, in both cases ...EddyB wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:03 amDid you fund the initial traditional IRA from a bank account, or from another Vanguard account. I had the same issue the OP described, several years ago, and since then I’ve just made the transfer into the traditional IRA internally at Vanguard.lakpr wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 8:55 am We (mrs. lakpr and mr. lakpr) did the backdoor Roth in the first week of January this year, and we could convert from Traditional IRA to Roth IRA two days later. Mrs. lakpr is on Brokerage platform, and Mr. lakpr is on Mutual Fund platform .... so it's not platform specific either.
If something changed with respect to how soon you can convert, it must have been within the last month, certainly not earlier.
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
I transferred from my bank account to the vanguard settlement fund, so its value is still 6000. as of today, it still wont let me convert. So annoying since I can put it into the market when I want to.
Vanguard phone support was useless
-
- Posts: 822
- Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2018 7:31 pm
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
I do bank to vanguard brokerage traditional IRA and it tells me I can’t convert for 7 days. It won’t allow me to convert the day after I make the contribution, but I can do the transfer the next day in spite of them saying it takes 7 days. So that’s how I have done it for the past couple of years. Just did it last week for my wife’s acct.
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
Same for me before. Last year It wouldnt let me convert the next day, but it did the following day. Now all of a sudden this sequence doesn't work. It wants me to wait even longer for no good reasonLiving Free wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:09 am I do bank to vanguard brokerage traditional IRA and it tells me I can’t convert for 7 days. It won’t allow me to convert the day after I make the contribution, but I can do the transfer the next day in spite of them saying it takes 7 days. So that’s how I have done it for the past couple of years. Just did it last week for my wife’s acct.
-
- Posts: 2843
- Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:58 pm
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
New Roth Conversion data point for 2022:jeam3131 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:11 amSame for me before. Last year It wouldnt let me convert the next day, but it did the following day. Now all of a sudden this sequence doesn't work. It wants me to wait even longer for no good reasonLiving Free wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:09 am I do bank to vanguard brokerage traditional IRA and it tells me I can’t convert for 7 days. It won’t allow me to convert the day after I make the contribution, but I can do the transfer the next day in spite of them saying it takes 7 days. So that’s how I have done it for the past couple of years. Just did it last week for my wife’s acct.
I created the Traditional IRA Brokerage Account and funded with $6000 via ACH from a bank earlier this week. Today was the first day that it showed I had $6000 available, although the magic "Convert to Roth" link didn't appear on the Traditional IRA. I was able to use the Exchange process. and it helpfully asked if I wanted to convert to a Roth. I selected Convert entire account to my Vanguard Roth Mutual Fund account.
That resulted in an error: ""The amount you entered exceeds this fund's balance." Funny, since it shows $6000 available in the account, and I selected Convert Entire Account.
Then I tried to convert to my Roth Brokerage Account. Success!
"100% of (your) —Traditional IRA Brokerage Account— account will be converted. After the full in-kind transfer is completed, "residual balances" can follow for a period of time—usually more than 60 days. For questions about residual balances and sweeps, and how they may impact your in-kind transfer or retirement distribution, please contact us at 877-662-7447.
If anyone gets that error while converting, try to convert to a Brokerage Roth account instead of the mutual fund account. Maybe it would have worked if I waited a few more days for the funds to ripen more, who knows. But Traditional Brokerage -> Roth Brokerage worked better.
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
Yes, I assume the mutual fund accounts and the brokerage accounts are still on different platforms. You should be able to convert/transfer between accounts on the same platform. If your accounts are on different platform, you probably still need to call up and request that they do the move.
A dollar in Roth is worth more than a dollar in a taxable account. A dollar in taxable is worth more than a dollar in a tax-deferred account.
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
Apparently the "The amount you entered exceeds this fund's balance" BDR problem has happened before:
https://www.google.com/search?q=The+amo ... eheads.org
https://www.google.com/search?q=The+amo ... eheads.org
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
The convert to Roth button doesn’t appear in the new style website. If you go to My account then balances & holdings, you’ll get the old website format and the convert option will appear in the traditional IRA section and you’ll get the standard IRA conversion screen.criticalmass wrote: ↑Fri Jan 21, 2022 4:48 pmNew Roth Conversion data point for 2022:jeam3131 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:11 amSame for me before. Last year It wouldnt let me convert the next day, but it did the following day. Now all of a sudden this sequence doesn't work. It wants me to wait even longer for no good reasonLiving Free wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:09 am I do bank to vanguard brokerage traditional IRA and it tells me I can’t convert for 7 days. It won’t allow me to convert the day after I make the contribution, but I can do the transfer the next day in spite of them saying it takes 7 days. So that’s how I have done it for the past couple of years. Just did it last week for my wife’s acct.
I created the Traditional IRA Brokerage Account and funded with $6000 via ACH from a bank earlier this week. Today was the first day that it showed I had $6000 available, although the magic "Convert to Roth" link didn't appear on the Traditional IRA. I was able to use the Exchange process. and it helpfully asked if I wanted to convert to a Roth. I selected Convert entire account to my Vanguard Roth Mutual Fund account.
That resulted in an error: ""The amount you entered exceeds this fund's balance." Funny, since it shows $6000 available in the account, and I selected Convert Entire Account.
Then I tried to convert to my Roth Brokerage Account. Success!
"100% of (your) —Traditional IRA Brokerage Account— account will be converted. After the full in-kind transfer is completed, "residual balances" can follow for a period of time—usually more than 60 days. For questions about residual balances and sweeps, and how they may impact your in-kind transfer or retirement distribution, please contact us at 877-662-7447.
If anyone gets that error while converting, try to convert to a Brokerage Roth account instead of the mutual fund account. Maybe it would have worked if I waited a few more days for the funds to ripen more, who knows. But Traditional Brokerage -> Roth Brokerage worked better.
I’m not a fan of the new website format for some of the pages, as they seem to have hidden a fair bit of functionality.
I was able to convert two business days after my deposit, but the funds were “unavailable” for withdrawal for 7-10 days. Not that I’d be withdrawing them from my Roth.
Last edited by brawlrats on Fri Jan 21, 2022 8:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
I initiated the deposit with a Vanguard pull from a bank account on Friday. Just for fun I tried the convert to Roth link (on the old style Balances and Holdings page) every day since so I wouldn't miss when the conversion became an option. On Wednesday, even though the TIRA was still showing the "unavailable" message, it let me do the conversion. That was 2 business days as Monday was a holiday.
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
This has been my exact experience for the last two years.nolesrule wrote: ↑Fri Jan 21, 2022 8:58 pm I initiated the deposit with a Vanguard pull from a bank account on Friday. Just for fun I tried the convert to Roth link (on the old style Balances and Holdings page) every day since so I wouldn't miss when the conversion became an option. On Wednesday, even though the TIRA was still showing the "unavailable" message, it let me do the conversion. That was 2 business days as Monday was a holiday.
-
- Posts: 2843
- Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:58 pm
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
Agree with the new website. Instead of fixing things, they removed functionality and made the site slower with a new graphics heavy front end over the same back end. Sigh.brawlrats wrote: ↑Fri Jan 21, 2022 8:33 pmThe convert to Roth button doesn’t appear in the new style website. If you go to My account then balances & holdings, you’ll get the old website format and the convert option will appear in the traditional IRA section and you’ll get the standard IRA conversion screen.criticalmass wrote: ↑Fri Jan 21, 2022 4:48 pmNew Roth Conversion data point for 2022:jeam3131 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:11 amSame for me before. Last year It wouldnt let me convert the next day, but it did the following day. Now all of a sudden this sequence doesn't work. It wants me to wait even longer for no good reasonLiving Free wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:09 am I do bank to vanguard brokerage traditional IRA and it tells me I can’t convert for 7 days. It won’t allow me to convert the day after I make the contribution, but I can do the transfer the next day in spite of them saying it takes 7 days. So that’s how I have done it for the past couple of years. Just did it last week for my wife’s acct.
I created the Traditional IRA Brokerage Account and funded with $6000 via ACH from a bank earlier this week. Today was the first day that it showed I had $6000 available, although the magic "Convert to Roth" link didn't appear on the Traditional IRA. I was able to use the Exchange process. and it helpfully asked if I wanted to convert to a Roth. I selected Convert entire account to my Vanguard Roth Mutual Fund account.
That resulted in an error: ""The amount you entered exceeds this fund's balance." Funny, since it shows $6000 available in the account, and I selected Convert Entire Account.
Then I tried to convert to my Roth Brokerage Account. Success!
"100% of (your) —Traditional IRA Brokerage Account— account will be converted. After the full in-kind transfer is completed, "residual balances" can follow for a period of time—usually more than 60 days. For questions about residual balances and sweeps, and how they may impact your in-kind transfer or retirement distribution, please contact us at 877-662-7447.
If anyone gets that error while converting, try to convert to a Brokerage Roth account instead of the mutual fund account. Maybe it would have worked if I waited a few more days for the funds to ripen more, who knows. But Traditional Brokerage -> Roth Brokerage worked better.
I’m not a fan of the new website format for some of the pages, as they seem to have hidden a fair bit of functionality.
I was able to convert two business days after my deposit, but the funds were “unavailable” for withdrawal for 7-10 days. Not that I’d be withdrawing them from my Roth.
My main point is that while I couldn't convert to a mutual fund IRA account (strange error), I could convert to the brokerage. We'll see if it will allow my to add to my existing mutual funds in legacy account but funded from the brokerage settlement fund.
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
Seems like another good reason to move off the “legacy” mutual fund platform. Haven’t they been trying to deprecate it for years now?
Crom laughs at your Four Winds
Re: Vanguard, Backdoor Roth. Won't let me convert
Thanks for sharing. I am gonna do the contribution and conversion this week.brawlrats wrote: ↑Fri Jan 21, 2022 8:33 pmThe convert to Roth button doesn’t appear in the new style website. If you go to My account then balances & holdings, you’ll get the old website format and the convert option will appear in the traditional IRA section and you’ll get the standard IRA conversion screen.criticalmass wrote: ↑Fri Jan 21, 2022 4:48 pm---jeam3131 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:11 amSame for me before. Last year It wouldnt let me convert the next day, but it did the following day. Now all of a sudden this sequence doesn't work. It wants me to wait even longer for no good reasonLiving Free wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:09 am I do bank to vanguard brokerage traditional IRA and it tells me I can’t convert for 7 days. It won’t allow me to convert the day after I make the contribution, but I can do the transfer the next day in spite of them saying it takes 7 days. So that’s how I have done it for the past couple of years. Just did it last week for my wife’s acct.
I’m not a fan of the new website format for some of the pages, as they seem to have hidden a fair bit of functionality.
I was able to convert two business days after my deposit, but the funds were “unavailable” for withdrawal for 7-10 days. Not that I’d be withdrawing them from my Roth.