IRS Guidance on the One Rollover Per Year Rule

A person generally cannot make more than one rollover from the same IRA within a 1-year period. A person also cannot make a rollover during this 1-year period from the IRA to which the distribution was rolled over.

Beginning after January 1, 2015, one can make only one rollover from an IRA to another (or the same) IRA in any 12-month period, regardless of the number of IRAs one owns. The one-per year limit does not apply to:

• rollovers from traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs (conversions)
• trustee-to-trustee transfers to another IRA
• IRA-to-plan rollovers plan-to-IRA rollovers
• plan-to-plan rollovers

Once this rule takes effect, the tax consequences are:

• one must include in gross income any previously untaxed amounts distributed from an IRA if you made an IRA-to-IRA rollover (other than a rollover from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA) in the preceding 12 months, and
• one may be subject to the 10% early withdrawal tax on the amount you include in gross income