Ooops...I guess I don't do that since you are right. Good catch. Since 2010, I have had zero balance in traditional IRAs, so this didn't affect me.

Any new hires could think about converting any traditional IRAs in their first/low-income year in prep for higher tax brackets later. Who knows if this back door will remain, but my hunch is that tax rates will be going up. And I'm an anonymous internet poster, so you should really listen to me!!!