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Level 2
January 3, 2021
Question

IRA

  • January 3, 2021
  • 4 replies
  • 34 views

My wife lost her job this Summer (July 2020) and she was covered by the retirement system  up to the last day . If  she contribute to her IRA account can we still get the deduction  since our total income this year are $150k together ?.

    4 replies

    Mike9241
    Level 15
    Level 15
    January 3, 2021

    were you covered by an employer retirement plan? 

    Mike9241
    Level 2
    January 3, 2021

    Yes I was cover and I contributed to 401k . 

    Level 15
    January 3, 2021

    Under these circumstances, neither of you is eligible to deduct a traditional IRA contribution.  However, it appears that each of you would be eligible to contribute to separate Roth IRAs.  You wouldn't get a deduction for those contributions, but growth in the Roth IRA would be tax-free rather than tax-deferred once the requirements for qualified distributions has been met, and that can be of greater benefit than a deduction for a traditional IRA contribution even if you were eligible for that deduction.

    macuser_22
    Alumni - Champ
    Alumni - Champ
    January 3, 2021

    For 2020, she can contribute (assuming that you have sufficient compensations to do so) but it would not be deductible since your MAGI would be over the $124,000 cut off amount when covered by a retirement plan.

     

    https://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/IRA-Deduction-Limits

     

    Assuming that for 2021 she will not be covered *  then if the contribution is for 2021 there is no limit unless yiu are covered then the MAGI for her would be $198K.

     

    *Some retirement plans do not work on a calendar year so there is a chance that the plan could extend into 2021 and if covered in 2021, even if for a day, the cut off limit would apply to 2021 also.

     

    **Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**