A Roth IRA is a kind of individual retirement account (IRA) that allows for tax-advantaged retirement savings. If you're married, you may be wondering whether you can open a joint Roth IRA with your spouse. The short answer is no—Roth IRAs can only be owned by a single individual.
Should Each Spouse Have a Roth IRA? Many spouses ask, “Can my wife and I both have a Roth IRA?” Yes, you can each have your own account to contribute to. This maximizes your total contributions and gives your money more compounding power. However, you must have earned income in order to contribute to an IRA.
Does it make sense for them to have multiple IRAs? Just as with single filers, married couples can have multiple IRAs — though jointly owned retirement accounts are not allowed. You can each contribute to your own IRA, or one spouse can contribute to both accounts.
You can contribute up to the maximum for each spouse, as long as you don't exceed the total compensation received by both spouses [on a married filing joint return]. When both spouses are age 50 or older, the limit is $7,000 per spouse.
You can have more than one Roth IRA, and you can open more than one Roth IRA at any time. There is no limit to the number of Roth IRA accounts you can have. However, no matter how many Roth IRAs you have, your total contributions cannot exceed the limits set by the government.
You can have multiple traditional and Roth IRAs, but your total cash contributions can't exceed the annual maximum, and your investment options may be limited by the IRS.
There's no limit to the number of IRA accounts you can have, but your contributions must stay within the annual limit across all accounts. Having multiple accounts gives you added options related to taxes, investments and withdrawals, but it can make your investing life a bit more complicated to manage.
A nonworking spouse can open and contribute to an IRA
Provided the other spouse is working and the couple files a joint federal income tax return, the nonworking spouse can open and contribute to their own traditional or Roth IRA.
A backdoor Roth IRA is not an official type of individual retirement account. Instead, it is an informal name for a complicated method used by high-income taxpayers to create a permanently tax-free Roth IRA, even if their incomes exceed the limits that the tax law prescribes for regular Roth ownership.
Contributions to a Roth IRA aren't deductible (and you don't report the contributions on your tax return), but qualified distributions or distributions that are a return of contributions aren't subject to tax. To be a Roth IRA, the account or annuity must be designated as a Roth IRA when it's set up.
Having multiple IRAs can help you fine-tune your tax-minimization strategy and gain access to more investment choices and increased account insurance. Here are the pros of having multiple IRAs: Tax diversification: Different types of IRAs provide different tax breaks.
For anyone else, Orman's clear opinion is that a Roth IRA is the smart choice -- and she's likely right given the likelihood of higher future tax rates and the greater potential for financial security as a retiree if withdrawals can be taken tax free.
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. Contributions to each account are capped by the individual annual IRA limits.
However, under IRS spousal IRA rules, both spouses may contribute to IRAs as long as one has earned income equal to or greater than the total contributions made each year. Furthermore, spouses may contribute to each other's IRAs. To take advantage of the spousal IRA rules, a married couple must file a joint tax return.
The combined IRA contribution limit for both spouses is the lesser of $12,000 per year or the total amount you and your spouse earned this year. If one of you is 50 or older, the federal limit rises to $13,000, and if both of you are, it is $14,000 per year. Contribution limits don't apply to rollover contributions.
Roth IRA contributions are made on an after-tax basis.
The maximum total annual contribution for all your IRAs combined is: $6,000 if you're under age 50. $7,000 if you're age 50 or older.
A mega backdoor Roth lets you work around limits set by the IRS if you're a high earner. The process works similar to when you convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. However, with a mega backdoor Roth IRA you can significantly lower or even eliminate the tax liability on the conversion, according to Motley Fool.
The Bottom Line
As long as you meet eligibility requirements, such as having earned income, you can contribute to both a Roth and a traditional IRA. How much you contribute to each is up to you, as long as you don't exceed the combined annual contribution limit of $6,000, or $7,000 if you're age 50 or older.
The backdoor Roth IRA strategy is still currently viable, but that may change at any time in 2022. Under the provisions of the Build Back Better bill, which passed the House of Representatives in 2021, high-income taxpayers would be prevented from making Roth conversions.
If you're married, your spouse can also do the backdoor Roth, even if he or she has no earned income. You must have at least $12,000 of earned income between the two of you (or $13,000 or $14,000 if one or both of you is at least 50 years old), but all of the income can come from one person.
Key Takeaways. Married couples should approach retirement planning differently from the way single people do. While some situations call for married people to keep retirement assets separate, in most cases, you're better off coordinating your retirement planning efforts with your spouse.
Generally, if you're not earning any income, you can't contribute to either a traditional or a Roth IRA. However, in some cases, married couples filing jointly may be able to make IRA contributions based on the taxable compensation reported on their joint return.
Key Takeaways. A Roth 401(k) has higher contribution limits and allows employers to make matching contributions. A Roth IRA allows your investments to grow for a longer period, offers more investment options, and makes early withdrawals easier.
It is possible to have both a Roth IRA and a Roth 401(k) at the same time. However, keep in mind that a Roth 401(k) must be offered by your employer in order to participate. Meanwhile, anyone with earned income (or any spouse whose partner has earned income) can open an IRA, given the stated income limits.
Merging your 401(k)s and IRAs can minimize taxes, avoid penalties and simplify RMDs. Just be sure to follow the rules. If you've worked for multiple companies in your lifetime, you probably have had several different 401(k) plans, some of which you may still own.