topic Re: IRA contribution and deductibility in Retirement tax questions

IRA contribution and deductibility

KB713 — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 23:43:22 GMT

Preparing 2020 tax return. Considering making an IRA contribution to tax year 2020 in 2021. Married filing jointly. I am covered by a retirement plan by my employer. Spouse is not covered by employer plan.

Does the contribution to an IRA have to be solely in my spouse's name to maximize deductibility?

Can the contribution be made to my existing IRA or would it be best to open a new account under her name?

Confused on if the names matter or not since one of us is covered by employer sponsored retirement plan and one of us is not.

Re: IRA contribution and deductibility

MaryM428 — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 23:59:02 GMT

Yes, you can contribute to a traditional and/or Roth IRA even if you participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan (including a SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan). Just make sure your contribution is in the allowable limits.

Re: IRA contribution and deductibility

KB713 — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 02:22:10 GMT

So it does not matter whose name the IRA account is held in - spouse with and employer plan or spouse with out?

Re: IRA contribution and deductibility

ThomasM125 — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 02:47:32 GMT

You are limited to how much you can contribute to your own IRA, so to maximize your joint contribution, you need to contribute the funds to separate IRA accounts.