IRA Rules

Posts Tagged ‘IRA Rules’

Tax Tips: Record Keeping – November 2009

Question: Should I have my wife with her lower income contribute into Roth IRA instead of me? ?

I am currently 23 and make 60k/yr. My wife is also 23 and currently without a job, but I estimate her income will be between 20-30k/yr. I am currently contributing 10% of my income into a traditional 401k and have been debating contributing to a Roth when it occured to me that SHE should contribute to the Roth because her tax bracket is lower than mine, providing the better tax deal. Would this play out how I imagine it would, or is there some rule with IRA that married couples are taxed at their combined income instead of individual when contributing?
It seems people don’t understand what I am getting at. Lets say I am in a 25% tax bracket and she is in a 15% tax bracket. If she contributes 5k a year into a Roth at her tax rate it would be 4.25k, while if I contributed 5k at my tax bracket into Roth it would be 3.75k towards our retirement. My question is does this infact happen, or does it go by your married joint income when determining your tax bracket?

Answer: It does not matter who contribute to the Roth IRA and besides, you and your spouse only have one common tax rate and the money contributed to the Roth IRA is after-tax money.

I encourage both of you to open a Roth IRA account so one for yourself and one for your wife. There is no Joint IRA because the “I” in IRA means Individual so you can only have your own Roth IRA and so is your wife. Now remember, there’s a contribution limit each year on IRA so don’t over-contribute.

Personal Investment & Loan Tips : 401K vs. IRA

Question: How long must the money be in an IRA to be used as downpayment?

I just moved my money from my previous employer’s pension plan to an Scottrade IRA account. I want to take out 10K for the down payment of my house. Are there any rules how long the money must have been in the IRA account before it can be taken out?

Answer: For a Roth, it must be in there for 5 years. Beware though that even if you can take out there money, it will not be tax/penality free.

NOYNOY AQUINO – IRA SHARING *CLOSING STATEMENT*