IRA contributions can only be made with qualifying income. Traditional savings or other retirement funds do not qualify.
For each year you contribute to a regular IRA or a Roth IRA, you (or your spouse, if you file jointly) must have qualifying income. If you don’t have qualifying income, you can’t contribute. And if your qualifying income (together with qualifying income of your spouse that can be used to support your contribution) is less than the maximum contribution, then the amount you can contribute is reduced.
There are three categories of qualifying income:
- Amounts earned as an employee,
- Self-employment income, and
- Taxable alimony income from a divorce or separation agreement entered into before 2019.
