How many Roth IRAs can I have?

[Guest Garcia365]

I'm new at this. Can I have more than one (1) Roth IRA???

Thanks

[John G]

You can have multiple Roths, multiple regular IRAs and multiple Roth and regular IRAs. The IRS constraints are not in the number of accounts but in eligability and maximum allowed contributions which are annualy determined by person, not by account. For example, if you qualify for the full $2,000 Roth contribution for a specific year, you can divide that into multiple brokerage accounts or mutual funds. But, you can NOT have multiple accounts each with $2,000 contributed for the same year.

Many people do have multiple Roth and regular IRA accounts. For example, some have old regular IRA accounts but recently have opened up Roth accounts. Direct investors in mutual funds may have accounts in different locations to participate in different types of funds.

There are practical limitations associated with multiple accounts: often higher annual fees, more recordkeeping, more custodians to contact when making changes. If you are just getting started, I would recommend that you keep your life simple... choose a low cost brokerage (there are dozens of good ones) or mutual fund/family (hundreds of choices) and put your initial investments into a broad based stock index fund. Why? Good diversification, lower expenses/costs, and simple to track.