If the reporter cashed the check for the month of death (and any later months), do not ask for a refund. Advise the reporter that the Treasury Department (TD) may request the funds back from the bank that cashed the check for a period of up to 12 months from the month that SSA learns of the death.
For example, if 5% of your non-Roth IRA are non-deductible contributions, then 5% of the conversion amount must be non-deductible contributions, and the rest must come from the deductible contributions, including earnings and rollover contributions.
Deductible Contributions. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 resulted in a difference between the IRA contribution limit and how much someone could deduct. With the Act, wage earners at certain income levels covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan saw the IRA deduction phased out for higher-income earners.