Recharacterization is the process of changing a retirement account contribution from one type to another, treating it as if the contribution had originally been made to the new account type. This only applies to contributions—not conversions. A common example is recharacterizing a contribution made to a traditional IRA as a Roth IRA contribution, or vice versa, typically before the tax filing deadline. This option lets you fix mistakes or adjust your strategy if your financial situation changes. When you recharacterize, any earnings or losses from the original contribution are transferred along with it.