Reclassify an IRA Contribution

Did you accidentally apply a contribution to the wrong year for your Roth or Traditional IRA?  In most cases, you can reclassify an IRA contribution from the current year to a prior year, or vice-versa, by filling out an IRA Deposit slip.

Do you have multiple IRA accounts and accidentally contributed to the wrong IRA account and need to recharacterize it? If so, then please click here.

Did you accidentally exceed your IRA contribution limit and need to remove an excess contribution? If so, then please click here.


Important limitations and deadlines to consider

Your eligibility to reclassify an IRA contribution is dependent on two factors–the calendar year you made the contribution and the tax filing date deadline.

When reclassifying, you may not postdate an IRA Contribution. In other words, if you made a current year contribution to your Traditional or Roth IRA in 2022, then you may not reclassify it as a contribution for the next tax year (2023).

However, suppose you contributed to your IRA in March 2023 and accidentally marked it as a current year contribution when it should have been a prior year contribution (for the 2022 tax year). In that case, you may reclassify the contribution as a prior year by filling out an IRA Deposit Slip. If this sounds like your situation, the deadline to reclassify an IRA contribution is the tax filing deadline (or up until the extended due date if you filed for an extension)


SEP IRA contributions cannot be reclassified as the reported contribution year bases on the actual calendar year of the contribution. Please refer to the Reporting Requirements section of the IRS SEP Plan FAQ page to learn more about this reporting rule.