OOPS -- mistake contributing to Roth IRA

I made a similar mistake a while ago and found that the people at Vanguard are amazingly well informed about this stuff. Call them up and explain the problem and they'll tell you what they can do. I think they were able to back out my money and recharacterize it retroactively since it was within the tax year.

You transfer the amount plus earnings (easily determined as it's a new fund), and the entire $1100 is considered contributed to the second IRA.

I _think_ Vanguard would be helpful, although (not a tax matter) they have recently (this decade, anyway) been required to increase the commissions charged.

-- Arthur L. Rubin, AFSP, CRTP, Brea, CA

The what? Vanguard doesn't charge any commissions for transactions on their mutual funds. They do charge commissions if you buy and sell stocks (other than their ETFs) or someone else's mutual funds.

As I said, I had a similar problem a few years back, and one phone call got it resolved.

Thanks, John and Arthur, for replying.

Wait times at Vanguard have been ridiculous lately, but I'll try calling them as you suggest.

You were absolutely right in your advice, John. I was apprehensive, because getting a rollover letter of acceptance in a form that Mass Mutual will accept has been a nightmare (and I still don't have it). But after the latest episode of that, I broached the recharacterization and the guy said, "let me transfer you to a recharacterization specialist". She did everything while I was on the phone, confirming each step with me. And it all shows in my pending transactions this evening.

And there are no tax consequences. She says I'll get a 1099-R at the end of the year and I'll have to file an 8606, but I saved a couple of hundred bucks in taxes on Social Security.