The amounts you can contribute are limited by your earned income. It is the same for both the Traditional and Roth IRAs. The $5,500* (Amounts increase each year. Check for current amount) amount is the maximum you can contribute, assuming you have sufficient earned income.
Earned Income IRA
What Is Compensation?
Generally, compensation is what you earn from working. For a summary of what compensation does and does not include, see Table 1-1. Compensation includes all of the items discussed next (even if you have more than one type).
Wages, salaries, etc. Wages, salaries, tips, professional fees, bonuses, and other amounts you receive for providing personal services are compensation. The IRS treats as compensation any amount properly shown in box 1 (Wages, tips, other compensation) of Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, provided that amount is reduced by any amount properly shown in box 11 (Nonqualified plans). Scholarship and fellowship payments are compensation for IRA purposes only if shown in box 1 of Form W-2.
Commissions. An amount you receive that is a percentage of profits or sales price is compensation.
Self-employment income. If you are self-employed (a sole proprietor or a partner), compensation is the net earnings from your trade or business (provided your personal services are a material income-producing factor) reduced by the total of:
- The deduction for contributions made on your behalf to retirement plans, and
- The deduction allowed for the deductible part of your self-employment taxes.
Compensation includes earnings from self-employment even if they are not subject to self-employment tax because of your religious beliefs.
Self-employment loss. If you have a net loss from self-employment, do not subtract the loss from your salaries or wages when figuring your total compensation.
Alimony and separate maintenance. For IRA purposes, compensation includes any taxable alimony and separate maintenance payments you receive under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance.
Nontaxable combat pay. If you were a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, compensation includes any nontaxable combat pay you received. This amount should be reported in box 12 of your 2017 Form W-2 with code Q.
Compensation does not include any of the following items.
- Earnings and profits from property, such as rental income, interest income, and dividend income.
- Pension or annuity income.
- Deferred compensation received (compensation payments postponed from a past year).
- Income from a partnership for which you do not provide services that are a material income-producing factor.
