Am I eligible to contribute (and how much) to a Roth IRA?

jage21 · #1 (**permalink**) 02-20-2009, 11:46 PM

I am married filing jointly and our Modified Adjusted Gross Income is $143,000. Am I able to contribute the full $5000 to a Roth IRA without being penalized the 6%? Also, can my wife contribute another $5000? Last, can the $5000 be contributed to both a roth and traditional IRA ($10,000 total) in a given tax year or is the 5K the limit between the two?

TaxGuru · #2 (**permalink**) 02-21-2009, 09:14 PM

According to the IRS, for 2008, the Roth IRA contribution limit for taxpayers whose filing status is "married filing jointly" would be generally the lesser of:

1) $5,000, or

2)the taxable compensation for the year.

However, there are further test that needs to be met that involves the taxpayers modified Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).

1. If the taxpayers AGI is less than $159,000 they qualify to make the full Roth IRA contribution.
2. If their AGI is between $159,000 to $169,000 their Roth IRA contribution is phased out.
3. For these Taxpayers, cannot make a Roth IRA contribution if their modified AGI is $169,000 or more.

With respect to your question as to whether or not you or your spouse can make both the regular IRA and the Roth IRA contribution, my understanding of the current tax rules is that the IRS only permits one or the other and not both contributions.

However, one spouse may contribute to the Roth IRA whilst the other spouse may contribute to a regular IRA!