Start here for the rules on putting money into a Roth IRA: 2026 limits, income phase-outs, deadlines, spousal and custodial accounts, and the checks to make before contributing.
Roth IRA Rules — Complete Guide
The full reference: contributions, conversions, withdrawals, and inheritance in one place.
2026 Contribution Limits
The canonical limits, catch-up rules, and prior-year contribution deadlines.
Eligibility & MAGI Phase-Outs
Who can contribute, how MAGI is calculated, and where the phase-outs land.
Spousal IRA Rules
How a non-working spouse can still fund an IRA.
Custodial & Minor Roth IRA
Roth IRAs for children with earned income — rules, limits, strategy.
SIMPLE IRA Rules
Small-employer plans, contribution limits, and rollover rules.
Excess Contribution Remediation
When the 6% excise tax applies, how attributable earnings are calculated, and which correction routes fit different situations.
529-to-Roth Rollovers
The $35,000 lifetime cap, 15-year account requirement, five-year contribution lookback, and annual-limit checks.
MAGI Estimator Tool
Estimate your Roth-specific MAGI and phase-out position, then check the result against your tax return.
TrumpIRA.gov & Saver's Match
The planned federal retirement-savings website and the separate Saver’s Match rules for qualifying contributions beginning in 2027.
Trump Accounts (for kids)
How contribution limits, the eligible-child federal contribution, and the later transition to ordinary Traditional IRA rules work.
529 Plan vs. Roth IRA
Compare education and retirement uses, withdrawal rules, and the conditions for a 529-to-Roth rollover.
Roth IRA for Military Members
How a Roth IRA fits beside Roth TSP, Code Q combat pay, BAH and BAS, BRS matching, Guard or Reserve work, and deployment deadlines.
Roth IRA for College Students
Which campus jobs, work-study pay, gigs, scholarships and stipends create contribution room; how family can help; and what FAFSA sees.
Roth IRA for Self-Employed People
How the personal Roth layer coordinates with SEP, SIMPLE or one-participant 401(k) limits, entity compensation, day-job plans and the pro-rata rule.
Roth IRA vs. Brokerage Account
Compare tax treatment, access to your money, investment choices, and the cross-account wash-sale trap.
403(b) vs. Roth IRA
How an eligible employer’s 403(b) compares with a Roth IRA, including employer contributions and special catch-up rules.
IUL vs. Roth IRA
Separate life-insurance coverage from retirement saving, and compare policy costs, limits and withdrawal risks.
Roth IRA vs. Savings Account
Why these aren’t alternatives for the same goal — the wrapper-vs-product-type explainer for one of the most common search-engine questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can I contribute to a Roth IRA for 2026?
For regular 2026 contributions, the combined Traditional-and-Roth IRA cap is $7,500 if you are under 50, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older by year-end, including the $1,100 catch-up. Your actual Roth room also depends on qualifying compensation, Roth MAGI and other regular IRA contributions. Rollovers and employer-plan contributions have separate rules.
Can I contribute to a Roth IRA and a 401(k) in the same year?
Yes. Regular IRA contributions and 401(k) elective deferrals have separate dollar limits. For 2026, the 401(k) elective-deferral limit is $24,500, plus a plan-permitted $8,000 age-50 catch-up, or $11,250 instead for participants turning 60–63 that year. Pre-tax and Roth 401(k) deferrals share that limit. A Roth 401(k) has no Roth-IRA-style MAGI phase-out; your direct Roth IRA contribution still must meet its own eligibility rules.
What is the deadline to contribute for a given tax year?
The usual deadline is the federal return due date, generally April 15 of the following year, without an ordinary filing extension. Qualifying disaster or combat-zone relief can postpone it. Between January and the prior-year deadline, tell your custodian which tax year a contribution is for; it can be a current-year or prior-year contribution.
Do I need earned income to contribute?
A regular contribution needs qualifying compensation under IRC §219(f)(1), such as wages or adjusted net self-employment earnings. Taxable alimony counts only under a divorce or separation instrument executed by December 31, 2018 that has not been modified to exclude the payments from income. Nontaxable combat pay and certain taxable graduate or postdoctoral stipends also count. Investment income, pensions and Social Security do not. Under the separate spousal rule in §219(c), a joint return can let a spouse with little or no compensation contribute, within the couple’s combined compensation and each spouse’s IRA limits. See the compensation checklist.
Can self-employed people contribute?
Yes. The regular Roth IRA uses adjusted self-employment compensation and the household MAGI rules. A business may separately fund a SEP, SIMPLE or one-participant 401(k). The self-employed guide maps the entity, employee-deferral, employer-contribution and pro-rata interactions.
Corrections and updates
Correction — September 24, 2026: Corrected the statutory compensation reference, taxable-alimony and joint-return conditions, and summaries of contribution deadlines, catch-ups, 529 rollovers and Trump Accounts. Removed overly broad claims about choosing accounts and calculator precision. Correction record.