Retirement tax questions

A rollover is not a contribution and does not change the amount you can contribute.

 

You can contribute up to $6000 if you are under age 50, or $7000 over age 50, but your contributions can't be more than your compensation from working.  (Compensation is generally defined as taxable wages or self-employment income.)  Contributions are usually tax-deductible, depending on your other income and whether you or a spouse has a retirement plan at work.  You can also choose to make a non-deductible contribution, although this creates extra paperwork that you have to keep track of for many years.  If you want to make a non-deductible contribution, you may want to open a Roth IRA instead.

 

Withdrawals from a traditional (pre-tax) IRA are subject to regular income tax, the rates vary between 10% and 39% depending on your other income.  If you are under age 59-1/2, there is an additional 10% penalty for early withdrawal.