The backdoor Roth IRA is less complicated than its name makes it sound. Here's the plain-language version.

If your income exceeds the Roth IRA direct contribution limit (~$146k single, ~$230k married filing jointly for 2024), you can still get money into a Roth via two steps: (1) make a non-deductible contribution to a traditional IRA (no income limit on non-deductible contributions), then (2) immediately convert that traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.

The 'pro-rata rule' is the one complication: if you have other pre-tax IRA money, the conversion is taxed proportionally. Most people doing the backdoor Roth don't have other traditional IRA balances, so this isn't an issue. If you do, you may need to roll your traditional IRA into a 401k first.

The conversion itself is a simple online transaction at your brokerage. The only 'tricky' part is the paperwork — you need to file Form 8606 with your taxes to report the non-deductible contribution and the conversion.