Eligibility for Spousal IRAs The eligibility requirements for the spousal IRA are straightforward: Marital Status: Married. Tax Filing Status: Married, filing jointly. Earnings: The contributing spouse must have compensation or earned income of at least the amount annually contributed to the nonworking spouse's IRA.
Under the spousal IRA rules, a couple where only one spouse works can contribute up to $12,000 per year, $13,000 if one spouse is 50 or older, or $14,000 if both are 50 or older. Each person may only contribute to their own accounts up to the annual IRA contribution limit.
For 2020 and 2021, the use of a spousal IRA strategy allows couples who are married filing jointly to contribute $12,000 to IRAs per year—or $14,000 if they are age 50 or older due to the catch-up contribution provision.
You need to have “earned income” (taxable compensation) to contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA. An exception to this rule is a spousal IRA, which allows someone with earned income to contribute on behalf of a spouse who doesn't work for pay.
When the surviving spouse chooses the inherited IRA option and passes away before starting RMDs, then the next generation of beneficiaries must begin RMDs by the end of the year following the surviving spouse's death, but they can use their own life expectancy to compute those RMDs.
An IRA cannot be held jointly by spouses. It can only be held in one individual's name.
Compensation Limits
There is no income cap for traditional IRA contributions. ... For 2020, a married couple filing jointly with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of up to $196,000 (and $198,000 in 2021) is eligible to contribute the full amount to each of their Roth IRAs.
Contribution Limits
When both partners in a marriage contribute to IRAs, they can contribute $5,000 to each spouse's IRA for a combined total of $10,000 per year. If one spouse is at least 50, the combined maximum is $11,000. When both spouses reach age 50 the maximum rises to $12,000.
Roth IRA contributions — including spousal Roth IRAs — aren't deductible, because you pay those taxes up front.
How many IRAs can I have? There's no limit to the number of individual retirement accounts (IRAs) you can own. No matter how many accounts you have, though, your total contributions for 2020 can't exceed the annual limit of $6,000, or $7,000 for people age 50 and over.
To make a contribution to either a traditional or Roth IRA, you have to have what the IRS defines as "earned income." The one exception is a spousal IRA for a non-working spouse. If you don't qualify for an IRA but have other sources of income, you should still make saving for retirement a priority.
The IRS does not include unemployment income as earned income on its website. If you've earned any of these forms of income the year you're unemployed (no matter how much), you can open an IRA.
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