How to Roll Over an IRA Into a Retirement Account
An IRA is an individually opened and run retirement savings plan that the Internal Revenue Service gives special tax breaks. The IRS also allows money in an IRA to be rolled over into several other types of retirement accounts, including other IRAs and 401k plans. You may want to roll over your IRA into another account in search of better yields, lower fees or to consolidate your retirement savings into one account. A rollover occurs when you take a distribution from one IRA account and put the money back into another qualified retirement plan.
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Instructions
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Request a distribution from your current IRA. Each financial institution has a different form for requesting a distribution, so you need to contact yours to get the proper paperwork.
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Receive the money, either in the form of a check or by having the money directly deposited into your bank account.
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Redeposit the money into another qualified retirement account within 60 days of the time the funds were first disbursed to you. If you fail to roll over the funds within 60 days, the money will be considered a distribution and you will be responsible for paying any applicable taxes and penalties on the account.
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Report the rollover on your taxes. The money counts as an IRA distribution, which will be reported on line 15a of your Form 1040 tax return. Write "rollover" next to line 15b and "0" on line 15b (assuming you did not take any other money out of your IRA) to signify that the money was rolled over.
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Tips & Warnings
You can only perform one rollover from an account every 12-month period.
Though the IRS rules permit IRAs to be rolled into a 401k plan, not all 401k plans accept rollovers from IRAs. You need to consult your 401k plan before attempting rollover from an IRA to make sure it is allowed.
