What Are Spousal IRAs?

What are the rules around making contributions to it?

A spousal IRA is not a special type of IRA account.

Rather, it is a term used to describe how a person can make an IRA contribution to their spouse's IRA account even if that spouse has little or no taxable income.

Spousal IRAs let stay-at-home spouses contribute the full amount allowed to an individual retirement account in any given year -- even if they earn no personal income -- as long as their husband or wife earns enough to cover their contribution.

Contributions can be made to either a traditional or to a Roth IRA, subject to the usual income caps and contribution limits.

If you and your spouse meet the conditions outlined below, you are allowed to contribute to his or her traditional or Roth IRA account.

In order to make a "spousal IRA" contribution you must satisfy all of the following criteria for the year in which you are making the IRA contribution:

  1. You must be married to your spouse at the end of the tax year;
  2. You must file a joint federal income tax return for the tax year;
  3. You must have taxable compensation for the tax year; and
  4. Your taxable compensation (for the tax year) must exceed your spouse's taxable compensation for that year.

If you and your spouse satisfy the criteria noted above and your spouse is younger that age 70.5, you can contribute to your spouse's traditional IRA.

In addition, some or all of those contributions may be tax deductible.

If your spouse is over the age 70.5 you cannot contribute to a traditional IRA for your spouse because contributions to traditional IRAs are not allowed after the account owner reaches age 70.5.

If you and your spouse meet the "spousal IRA" criteria above as well as the criteria to contribute to a Roth IRA, you can make a non-deductible contribution to your spouse's Roth IRA.

The amount that you are allowed to contribute for your spouse is based on your tax filing status, and the taxable compensation each of you receive.

For the 2009 tax year, if you and your spouse file a joint tax return and your taxable compensation is higher than that of your spouse's, the contribution to your spouse's IRA is limited to the lesser of the following two amounts:

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