How do you record a taxable in-kind transfer of shares for a Roth Conversion?

Question

I did a Roth Conversion by transferring shares from a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. I can Remove or Transfer the shares, but it does not appear as a taxable distribution. Do I have to make a phantom deposit in a phony cash account to create a taxable transaction?

jfclague · Answer

When I did a Roth Conversion, I transferred the shares between the accounts and also I added to the tax planner to determine my tax effect.

markus1957 · Answer

Yes, but you can just use your checking account.  I use a manual transfer originating in the checking account with splits. One split line accepting cash from the IRA and then returning it back in another split line to the account for a zero dollars transaction.

If the tax line in the IRA account details is set up with IRA taxable distribution for transfers out, it will show up correctly for tax purposes.