[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Isn't there a yearly maximum that one can add to their Roth account?

I know at one point ed Jones told me I couldn't add more one year.

I believe the current maximum (it goes up every once in a while) is $7k.

But there is a conversion process. If you have a standard IRA and you want to convert to a Roth IRA, you can do that. It bypasses the max yearly contribution. It's because you aren't really contributing to an IRA. You have an IRA and you are just changing that IRA from one type to another type of IRA.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/iraconversion.asp

What Is a Roth IRA Conversion?

A Roth IRA conversion is a transfer of retirement assets from a Traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA into a Roth IRA, which creates a taxable event. A Roth IRA conversion can be advantageous for individuals with large traditional IRA accounts who expect their future tax bills to stay at the same level or grow at the time they plan to start withdrawing from their tax-advantaged account, as a Roth IRA allows for tax-free withdrawals of qualified distributions.
Key Takeaways

A Roth IRA conversion involves transferring retirement funds from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth account.
Since the former is tax-deferred while a Roth is tax-exempt, the deferred income taxes due must be paid on the converted funds at that time. There is no early withdrawal penalty.
This strategy makes sense if a saver believes that the deferred tax liability in the traditional account will grow as retirement approaches, where it is better to pay those taxes now than later.

How a Roth IRA Conversion Works

A conversion may be accomplished by a rollover of assets directly between the trustees of the traditional and Roth IRAs, or by the IRA owner distributing the assets from the traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA and rolling over the amount to the Roth IRA within 60 days of receiving the distributed amount.

Any such conversions should be done with due diligence, possibly consulting a financial planner or personal tax professional, as there may be major tax implications if not done appropriately. This is even more important because a Roth conversion completed after Dec. 31, 2017, can no longer be recharacterized—in other words, it can't be reverted back to a traditional IRA later.