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But there are potential pitfalls that would not occur if a front door roth contribution was made. For a taxpayer with existing traditional IRAs, the recharacterization can become a significant taxable event due to the pro-rata rule. Also need to keep in mind the 5 year rule.

IRS has been unhappy with the back door approach for years but congress won't change it. Who knows, maybe most of them take advantage of it? Heed Danrvan's advice if the client already has a traditional IRA. Say you're over AGI and contribute $6k to your traditional that's nondeductible. You can't just pull that $6k out and convert it to a Roth. If your IRA balance was $100k and you convert the $6k, only .06 percent will be treated as basis and the rest will be taxable. Also be aware that before this year, people 70 1/2 or older couldn't contribute to a traditional at all, so the back door was closed.