Solo 401(k)s that allow after-tax contributions + megabackdoor roth

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doctorette

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I want to max out $57,000 into a retirement account for 2020. I will have some 1099 income for the year, but not nearly enough to put away 20% from profit sharing and meet the maximum. Thus my plan is to max out on the employee portion + whatever I can get from profit sharing and meet the balance with an after-tax contribution and mega backdoor roth.

I've spent a couple of days trying to figure out which is the best brokerage that allows for everything I want in a prototype account. I even called TD Ameritrade but they don't seem to understand what after-tax contribution means, and in any case I don't think they allow it.

It leaves me to E-trade and Fidelity. Fidelity seems to allow after-tax contribution + mega backdoor but their employee portion does not offer a Roth 401k, My overall income will be low this year, therefore I prefer a Roth 401k instead of a Traditional.

The only other option seems to be E-trade, but I can't figure out by searching whether they allow it or not. I know they definitely do Roth 401k.

If E-trade doesn't work, I will go with Fidelity. In that case I am curious if the Fidelity prototype plan allow 401k to Roth rollovers while the plan is still active since they don't offer Roth 401k?

Any tips, suggestions, comments? Thanks for reading.

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Do you really think you'll be in a lower tax bracket now than retirement (Roth vs pre-tax question)? Either way, are you an employed physician with mostly W2 income? Fidelity is easy enough to set up for a solo 401k. I did most of the work but decided not to go through with it in the end since my wife's 1099 income was so low the year I was going to create the account.

By the way you may want to ask the same question on the WCI Facebook page or forum.
 
You'll need a customized solo 401(k) to get that option. It'll cost you a few hundred dollars a year. You can't get it from a cookie-cutter Vanguard, Fidelity, eTrade, TD Ameritrade, or Schwab solo 401(k). It's generally the same folks who offer a self-directed feature in their i401(k)s.

The only people I know who do it have a financial conflict of interest with me (i.e. they advertise with me). But not telling you who they are seems to be a greater disservice, so I'll just disclose the conflict and let you do what you want with the information. Here's the list:


I'm sure they have competitors, but these are the folks I know.
 
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