Contribute to 2003 or 2004 Roth after filing taxes?

[Guest aninnag]

Hi-

I've already filed my taxes, but I am now planning to open a Roth IRA account. I've never had such an account before. My question is, can I still take advantage of the April 15 deadline to contribute to my Roth IRA for 2003? Or do I have to file for 2004 now?

The question arises because I'm not sure whether the Roth IRA contribution gets reported to the IRS with the regular tax return or with some separate form?

Appreciate your help,

Thanks,

AR

[John G]

You can still contribute to a 2003 up until the date when your tax return is due - April 15. Because IRA departments get clogged in April, make sure that you get your custodian to post the contribution for 2003. And, you can also make your 2004 contribution at the same time.

Subject to the usual caveats about earned income and adjusted gross income to qualify.

[ElGuapo]

The question arises because I'm not sure whether the Roth IRA contribution gets reported to the IRS with the regular tax return or with some separate form?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the answer to your question here is "Neither."

Your tax preparation software will ask you about Roth contributions because it wants to keep track from year to year, but I don't believe it's reported anywhere on the 1040, and it certainly doesn't affect the actual tax bill.

As to the "some separate form" question, you will get a Form 5498 from the custodian that shows your contribution and the year for which it was done, but I don't know that the IRS even receives a copy of this form. (Do they, anyone?) Either way, this is just something for your own records and not something you would have needed to attach to your 1040.

[Lame Duck]

Copy A of the 5498 is forwarded to the Internal Revenue Service Center with Form 1096.

[papogi]

Also, tax prep software will ask about Roth IRA contributions because they might allow you to claim a credit on contributions to retirement plans on Form 8880. Trad IRA, Roth IRA, 401k (and some others) contributions all qualify.

[ElGuapo]

Oh yeah, good point about the credit. So it's possible this contribution will reduce the total tax bill for the year, if AGI is below $25,000 for single or $50,000 for joint.

That credit really hasn't gotten the attention it deserves, probably because the big investment firms aren't targeting these people as clients. Aninnag, if you think you might qualify, you can read more about it on irs.gov, Form 8880.

[Guest aninnag]

Thanks for all the help!

[Appleby]

That credit really hasn't gotten the attention it deserves...  Aninnag, if you think you might qualify, you can read more about it on irs.gov, Form 8880.

I agree.

You can also read about it at http://www.investopedia.com/articles/retir...t/04/031704.asp