Q. Last year I contributed the $5,500 limit to a Roth IRA. It turned out that my 2016 income was too high to contribute to a Roth IRA; is it too late for me to do anything about it?
A. It’s not too late yet. You have until October 16, 2017 to recharacterize your contribution to a traditional IRA. A recharacterization is a tax-free transfer of funds from one kind of an IRA to another. Your IRA custodian will directly move the funds you choose to recharacterize, along with the earnings or losses attributable to them, from (in your case) a Roth IRA to a traditional IRA.
Recharacterizations can also be used to undo a Roth conversion if it is to your advantage to do so. The funds must be recharacterized by the final due date (including extensions) of your federal income tax return which, this year, is October 16th.
If I were you, I would contact your IRA custodian as soon as possible. If you wait until too close to the deadline, they might not be able to complete the transaction by the deadline.
