what are the specific qualifications for a roth IRA

[Guest UMfanatic]

My girlfriend is doing research on different IRA's and she was curious as to what are the qualifications to be eligible for a Roth

[John G]

Ah research! Direct her to IRS publication 590.

Some of the rules governing Roth IRAs

1. no age limit

2. a Roth is an individual retirement account

3. no deductions for any contributions

4. no required withdrawal schedule

5. to be eligible to contribute in any year, you must have taxable compensation - which for most people means earned income from wages or salary that would show up on a W2.... there can be other sources of earned income, but interest and dividends do NOT count

6. income (modified adjusted gross income) must fall below $160,000 if married filing jointly, or $110,000 for single... there are more complicated issues if you are married filing separately, there are also complicated "phase out" rules if you are close to the threshold

7. current maximum annual contribution $3,000 or earned income which ever is lower. But, if you are age 50 or older you can contribute $3,500

8. income to qualify can be your own or your spouses. For example, one spouse working and making $6,000 can allow each spouse to contribute $3,000 to their own Roth