Roth IRA Contribution Limits

Annual Contribution Limits

Roth individual retirement account (IRA) contribution limits mirror those for traditional IRAs and are shown in the table below.   Roth IRA are made on an after-tax basis.

YEAR AGE 49 & BELOW AGE 50 & ABOVE (With Catch-up)
2002-2004 $3,000 $3,500
2005 $4,000 $4,500
2006-2007 $4,000 $5,000
2008 $5,000 $6,000

 

Income Limitations on Contributions

However, if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is above a certain amount, your maximum contribution limit for the year is gradually reduced. Roth IRA contributions are limited under the following circumstances:

Roth IRA Contribution Phase-out
Filing status Modified AGI
  phase-out begins no deduction
married filing jointly $150,000 $160,000
married filing separately and you lived with your spouse during the year $0 $10,000
anything other than the above two $95,000 $110,000

Figuring the contribution reduction. If your AGI is between the ranges provided above, you can only contribute a reduced amount for the year. If your AGI is above the limits listed above, you cannot contribute to a Roth IRA. However, you can still make nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA if you want to.

Excess contributions. A 6 percent excise tax applies to excess contributions made to a Roth IRA. However, any contribution withdrawn on or before the due date for filing your tax return (generally April 15) is treated as an amount that is not contributed. So, you can simply avoid the excise tax by withdrawing the excess contribution in time.