It is possible that no one has mentioned this Roth IRA conversion opportunity to you before. This is because prior to January 1, 2010, if your household income exceeded $100,000, you were not allowed to do it. Thanks to the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, now you can.

Regardless of your income level, you can now do a Roth IRA conversion at any time. But, thanks to this same Act, there is an extra reason you might want to do a conversion in 2010. That is because the amount converted in 2010 can optionally be reported as taxable income over two years - half on your 2011 income tax return and half on your 2012 income tax return. So, the taxes can be delayed a bit and spread out over 2 years, but only for conversions that are made in 2010.