Single and Getting Married...

[Guest raven36]

Hi all, I'm single and have had my Roth for a while, and I'm below the single limit. If I get married and she makes enough to put us over the married limit even though each of us is below the single limit, does this mean we cannot keep this as our main retirement vehicle? Thanks for any replys.

[Guest kdm]

You won't be able to contribute anymore, however you can keep what is in the Roth already.

[John G]

I believe these rules still hold:

"... Those with AGIs in excess of $110,000 for single tax filers, and $160,000 for joint tax filers, are prohibited from contributing to a Roth IRA. Those with AGIs in excess of $95,000, if a single tax filer, or $150,000, if a joint tax filer, can only contribute a proportionate amount. For example, a single tax filer with an AGI of $102,500 is only entitled to contribute $1,000 to a Roth IRA. Both the AGI conversion and contribution limits do not include gross income resulting from conversions." from ROTHIRA.COM

Note, the married filing jointly has a higher limit. If you are under 150k you can do a full Roth. If you are close, you might want to consider selling any stock loser or getting a company to push a bonus into 2003 to qualify this year.

If either you or your wife run a business, you have multiple other options for tax sheltered investing and should talk with your accountant. You should also evaluate any corporate plans like 401ks that you or your future wife may have access.

Marry in 2003, and you may both be eligible for this year.