topic Re: IRA contribution in Retirement tax questions

IRA contribution

DB31 — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 03:54:37 GMT

My husband is retired and does not have earned income. I do have earned income and contribute the max amount to a traditional IRA ($7000). Why is TurboTax saying my husband can make a contribution to a traditional IRA ($3701) and save money in taxes? I thought he had to have earned income.

Re: IRA contribution

MayaD — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 17:38:01 GMT

Per IRS: To contribute to a traditional IRA, you, and/or your spouse if you file a joint return, must have taxable compensation, such as wages, salaries, commissions, tips, bonuses, or net income from self-employment.

IRS.GOV

Re: IRA contribution

fanfare — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 18:43:48 GMT

since your spouse has less income than you do, your earned income less the $7,000 you used for yourself, can be used to fund his IRA also.

@DB31

This is called a spousal IRA contribution.